


The Future is Not Guaranteed

by shannyfish



Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alcoholic Tony Stark, Alternate Canon, Awkwardness, Banter, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gen, Home, Homecoming, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Man 1, Malibu Mansion, Noncanonical Character Death, POV Pepper Potts, POV Tony Stark, Pepper Feels, Pepper hears everything, Plans For The Future, Prison, Promises, Protective Pepper, Return, Sequel, Stark Industries, Surgery, Tony Being Tony, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-24
Updated: 2013-08-03
Packaged: 2017-12-21 05:17:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/896233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/pseuds/shannyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pepper and Tony return to Malibu.  They are faced with coping with their experiences in Afghanistan as well as trying to move forward…  But will it be done so easily?  Sequel to “All That Counts”.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Awkward Return

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read and taken the time to review or PM me about “All That Counts” as well as my other stories! I’m going to TRY to keep this all in Pepper’s POV…though maybe I’ll sneak in one Tony chapter…we’ll see! Also! Constructive criticism is as always appreciated! Check out my blog on my writing at shannyfish11 (dot) blogspot (dot) com

“Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.” ~ Wayne Dyer

 

. . .

 

Being back wasn’t as she thought it would be. Pepper had expected some kind of weight to be lifted off of her… That didn’t happen. The best part of coming home so far had been Happy at the airport waiting for them. He’d saved her from Rhodey and Tony’s back and forth and had been just as happy to see her. 

“You can’t be serious…” Rhodey exclaimed.

“I’m not going to a hospital… Obadiah’s already arranged for a nurse…” Tony explained.

“What about x-rays?”

“They can bring the machines to the house…”

“Seriously?”

Pepper wasn’t sure how any of this surprised Rhodey and was half tempted to ask Happy to pull over, so that she could move up into the front passenger seat with him. Tony had paid little attention to her during the flight, which was fine…it had kept Rhodey from using anything else in their argument. 

“Pepper, where am I going first?” Happy called into the back.

She wondered if he sensed the unease and insanity back there. “The house,” Pepper told him. 

“You sure? You don’t want me to drop you off first?”

“Wait…wait…wait… What am I missing?” Tony asked, as if he’d suddenly realized that Happy had been talking.

“Nothing,” she told him with a slight frown. “We’re going to the house… Obadiah has the doctor waiting…he also has an x-ray there… He wants both of us looked over… Happy is to drive Rhodey wherever he wants to go once we’re there.” She’d received orders once they hit the ground. Obadiah had sent her a brand new phone, it was obviously whatever had just been released since it wasn’t exactly the same as the one she had had before.

“What if we want to hang out?” Tony asked.

“I think you could use the rest.”

“What if I—“

“Just do what you want then,” Pepper said and then looked down at her phone. She wanted to speak frankly to him and from her heart, but she couldn’t… Not with Rhodey there…and not with Happy so close and listening in. 

“Pep—“

“Do what you want, Tony…but at least let the doctor look at you first,” she said and her voice was softer. It was so hard because she felt like she was thrust right back into things after she and Tony had said that things would be different. They weren’t different. The moment they stepped off the plane, everything had been pushed back into her hands and had pretty much been forced to be in place by Obadiah…

She wanted to go home. 

She did.

But her job had always come first…no matter how many times she’d told herself that she wouldn’t turn into that person. It came with being someone’s personal assistant, especially when that someone was Tony Stark. She needed to make sure that he behaved, though…at least enough for a doctor to look him over and for some x-rays to be taken. There was also the fact that Obadiah apparently wanted that same doctor to look her over and x-ray her…and she had to admit, she’d rather do it at the Malibu Mansion than to be checked into the hospital to have all the work done. The press would already be waiting at the gates of the mansion; they didn’t need to add to the fire…

“Okay,” was all he said quietly before sitting back in his seat. 

It seemed to quiet them all and Pepper was happy for it. She’d been going through five months of e-mails and making notes. She needed to find out what of what she received was still relevant and what she didn’t need to worry about. No matter what happened over the last five months, she couldn’t just hide away or go on vacation or try to disappear…she had a job to do and it was demanding… And Obadiah was ensuring that she start right off. Pepper had wondered if it was because she’d kissed Tony in front of him and Rhodey… Was he worried that she’d become some kind of sexual harassment suit? Did he think that after everything that she’d just up and quit? Or did he think that pushing her back in immediately was somehow helpful?

Tony was quiet the rest of the ride to the mansion. Occasionally she’d look over to check on him and she’d find him looking at her. Usually once she saw Rhodey had noticed, she’d look back out the window. She just hoped that Rhodey didn’t tell Obadiah anything about the kiss…or kisses…before they’d boarded the plane in Afghanistan. That was the last thing that he needed to know right now….

 

. . .

 

“There he is!” Obadiah said as they exited the car. Pepper stayed off to the side and tried her best to be invisible. She suddenly felt like how she’d been in the cave before…and she felt a bit of panic rise in her.

“You okay, Pep?” came a quiet voice from the other side of her.

It caught her by surprise and she jumped a bit and looked over to see Happy there. She tried to keep a smile in place. “Fine… Just tired…”

“Let me take you home,” Happy practically pleaded.

“Obadiah wants Tony and I both looked over first,” she whispered. 

“And then home,” he insisted.

Pepper smiled over at him and leaned into him a bit. “I missed you,” she told him. He’d always been the other person to help her with getting Tony to behave. He wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her arm for a moment. They just stood there while Obadiah talked to Rhodey and Tony. At least she wasn’t completely invisible.

She felt like she was losing it. She kept blocking out voices and conversations…or least she thought she was unconsciously doing it. She had no idea what Obadiah had just said to Tony or Rhodey and had only followed when Happy had given her a nudge and walked with her. 

Inside, there were people waiting and Pepper suddenly felt overwhelmed. This is what she wanted to avoid. Obadiah had really done a job of bringing the hospital to the mansion… She’d thought there’d be a doctor and a nurse…but there were far more people there. 

“What the hell is this?” Tony exclaimed.

She knew that was coming. 

Pepper put a grateful hand on Happy’s arm and gave him a smile before moving away from him. She moved herself up to Tony’s side. “Go on up to your room… I’ll get this sorted,” she told him.

“I agreed to a doctor—“

“I know,” she told him.

“And an x-ray—“

“You may need more than one…”

They just stared at each other for a moment before he headed past all of the medical staff. Rhodey and Happy were trailing behind him. She sighed. Obadiah had just overdone it just a bit, especially for the first day. They’d spent time in the medical ward at Camp Joyce…and this is not really what they wanted to come home to. 

“You handled that well,” Obadiah told her.

She turned to him and told herself to stay calm. “I don’t think we really need this many people in the house…”

“I was trying to be prepared…” Obadiah told her. “I wanted you both checked over and cleared today…if we could…”

“Did you have them set up the equipment for the x-rays in one of the rooms?”

Obadiah nodded. “They set up blood work equipment and anything else they needed in there as well…”

This was going to be a lot more stressful than she’d wanted the day to be and she was sure that Tony was not going to have it either…” Pepper looked around and then looked back to Obadiah. “Figure out what’s essential that needs to be done today. One doctor in the room… If I need to take notes for him, I will, but Tony’s not going to want five people in there…” 

He sighed with frustration, but Pepper didn’t understand why this came as such a shock to Obadiah. He’d known Tony long enough. He wasn’t a good patient and he didn’t like to be crowded unless it was by models… “Go on up and check on him… I’ll have the doctor knock when he’s ready to see him…”

Pepper nodded before heading up the stairs. She stopped at one point, when she was almost to Tony’s room and out of the range of Obadiah’s eyes, she held onto the wall for support and tried to wish the pain away. It was past time that she was supposed to take the pain medications, but she hadn’t really had the time. And it wasn’t going to happen right now either… 

She took a moment, made it the rest of the way to Tony’s room, composed herself, knocked on his door, waited a grand total of ten seconds, and then entered. “Tony… There’s going to be a doctor coming up in a minute…” She halted when she found Tony in only his boxers showing off his arc reactor to Rhodey and Happy.

“Do you know if they’ve all signed the confidentiality agreement?” Tony asked.

“I’ll make sure of it,” she told him.

He looked over at her and it was like there was something between them. She didn’t know how to explain it. It was like their eyes were talking… She felt like he was trying to tell her something…

“Everyone needs to leave this room, except Pepper,” Tony announced. 

“Pepper needs to rest,” Happy argued, but Rhodey was pushing him out the door. 

She heard the click of the door and she looked down at her hands, which were folded neatly in front of her. He was there a moment later with his finger under her chin. He lifted it and he was looking at her so full of concern. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“For what?” she managed to get out, but tears were already rolling down her face.

He pulled her into his arms and enveloped her. His hand was stroking her hair and she felt like she was melting into his embrace. “For Obadiah… For being a jerk…on the plane and in the car… For—“

There was a knock at the door and Pepper was pulling away and wiping away her tears. She sucked in breath and then gave Tony a look that told him to behave. She just hoped he did it. “Just a moment,” Pepper said as she walked towards the door. 

“Pep,” he said quietly.

She turned to him. “We can talk more after the doctor looks you over…”

Tony nodded and she opened the door to let the doctor in. She saw Tony sit on the edge of the bed, but he still didn’t look happy. He looked downright miserable. 

They couldn’t have a conversation right now. As much as she wanted to just curl up in bed and let him hold her while they both slept…they couldn’t. And Obadiah was watching every move that they made. “Do you need me to stay, Doctor?” she asked.

The doctor looked over at Tony and looked like he was waiting for him to answer. “Not unless Mr. Stark requires your supervision.” The doctor was older, but seemed to be tough enough to deal with Tony. He’d need to be.

“Will that be all, Mr. Stark?” she asked.

“That’ll be all, Ms. Potts,” he told her in standard response. She turned and he stopped her. “You’re not leaving though, right?”

“I’ll be downstairs checking on a few things… I’ll check in with you before I leave,” she told him before disappearing. In truth, Pepper was hoping to hide away in one of the extra rooms. She just wanted to lie down and close her eyes for a few minutes. She hurt and she was confused and overwhelmed. It wasn’t a good combo.

When she came down the stairs she was relieved to see no medical staff in sight. Obadiah was there talking to Happy and Rhodey and Pepper just prayed that Rhodey hadn’t gossiped while she was upstairs. She put on a smile as she approached them. “The doctor’s looking in on him now…”

“I have another doctor waiting on the guest room down the hall,” Obadiah said and vaguely motioned. 

Pepper frowned.

“The one with that painting that you said was too beautiful to hide away in a guest room that no one would ever see,” Happy told her.

Pepper knew what he was talking about now. She nodded. “I appreciate you arranging it,” she told Obadiah. 

“I have to make sure that you’re both well taken care of… Those army doctors couldn’t have known everything,” Obadiah told her.

“They’re actually highly trained,” Rhodey told him.

Before a fight broke out, she started down the hall. She’d leave Obadiah and Rhodey to argue in her absence. If Happy were smart, he’d excuse himself to do something else too… 

 

. . .

 

Her time with the doctor had gone by quickly enough and it seemed like they’d even beaten Tony to the x-ray part as well. She was starting to wonder if she needed to go upstairs and check on him…just in case. “Remember Ms. Potts, I want you resting—“

She nodded. “Fill the prescription, the only activity you want me doing is in a pool, and you’ll be calling me…”

The doctor nodded. “I would prefer that you be hospitalized until I know for sure…but I want you to understand that I’m quite serious about—“

“I understand, Doctor. Thank you.” She didn’t want to continue to listen to his lecture. She’d already heard it and even though she was sure that he wanted her to follow his orders right then and there…she still needed to check on Tony… 

Moving upstairs towards his bedroom, she avoided Obadiah’s gaze and pretended like she hadn’t even seen him. As she moved up the stairs she focused on breathing. The pain was getting to be too much for her. She listened at the door, she didn’t hear anything. Pepper knocked and waited. 

“Come in.”

She opened the door and found the doctor sitting on the bed next to him. “Is everything okay?” 

“We were just chatting,” the doctor spoke up. He patted Tony’s knee. “Time to get down to that x-ray,” the doctor told him. 

“Can you give us a moment?” Tony asked.

“Five minutes and then I’m going to send Mr. Stane up to get you,” the doctor said and shook his finger at Tony before leaving. 

Pepper watched in amusement and waited until the door was shut before turning her attention back to him. “Did you actually let the doctor look at you?” she questioned. If anyone could get away with skipping the doctor actually doing his job, it was Tony.

“I was already in my boxers when he got in here,” Tony told her and motioned to his now fully clothed body. “Or do I need to refresh your memory?” he asked as he reached to pull up his shirt.

She held out a hand and tried to suppress her smile as best as she could, which wasn’t very good at the moment. “No…no…that’s okay… You getting the x-rays done, though.”

“I think he said I only needed one,” Tony told her.

“I guarantee you that he actually meant a full set…”

“That sounds like it’s going to be boring and take a long time.”

“Probably…”

He held out a hand for her and she was hesitant. She took a step towards him. “Pepper…come on…” She finally took it and he pulled her a few steps closer. “Did you see a doctor?”

She nodded. “And did the x-rays…”

“What did they say?” 

Pepper frowned. She needed him to cooperate and get the x-rays done. “He said I need to get a prescription filled and that I need bed rest… A lot of bed rest…”

“I have a bed,” he told her with a grin. 

As he pulled her again, this time all the way to him and his arms wrapped around her she couldn’t hold back the pain anymore. She let out the tiniest of whimpers, but knew Tony had heard it because he had suddenly tensed up. She rested her head on his shoulder though and hoped that he left it even though she knew he wouldn’t. 

“Pep—“

“Shh…”

“What else did the doctor say?”

“A lot of things that he’s not sure about and that I didn’t want to hear,” she whispered. 

“Please tell me,” he begged.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. He was worried, scared, and just exhausted. They both were. “You need to get your x-rays done…”

“Pep—“

“I’m going to go and lay down,” she told him. 

“Stay here,” he told her.

“No,” she said quickly.

“Why not?” 

“Obadiah has been giving me looks,” she told him. “I think he’s purposely trying to get things back to how they were before…and I don’t think he appreciated me kissing you in Afghanistan.”

“You kissed me twice.”

She smiled. “He still doesn’t seem to appreciate it… I’d rather not upset him and cause any problems with this just being our first day back. I’m going to go lay down in the room I was in with the doctor, I’ll have Happy go drop off and pick up my prescription, and you’ll come and get me once Obadiah is gone…”

“I’ll put Happy on food and beverage replenishment as well,” he told her. 

“Excellent plan,” she told him. “Time for you to go…”

“How bad do you hurt?” 

“I can handle it… I just overdid it today,” she told him. Pepper leaned in and their lips met. They lingered there for a moment and then Pepper broke the kiss. “Three.” She just stared at him for a long moment before turning and heading out of his room. 

“What about four? I thought we were doing kisses in twos,” he told her and got up and followed.

 

. . .

 

TBC...


	2. This Always Happens

She’d had a hard time falling asleep because of the pain, but Pepper had finally managed it…it had only lasted an hour, though it had felt more like fifteen minutes. When she woke, she found Tony sitting on the floor, his chin on the edge of the bed, and he was just staring at her. A small smile formed on her face. “I’m sure you have other more exciting things to do…”

“The doctor said he didn’t want me to do much… He did give me permission to be my normal self in the verbal sense, though,” Tony told her. “He apparently found me quite amusing…”

“Of course he did,” she whispered and shook her head slightly. She was being careful not to move her back, but she wanted to stretch so badly. 

“He also told me that the swelling is starting to return along your spine,” Tony told her. 

Pepper sighed. Doctor-patient confidentiality really didn’t exist when you were Tony Stark and the doctors came to your house… She was sure she could have gotten the doctor to tell her what he’d found about him too… She was irritated, but she really couldn’t blame him. She would have told him, but she didn’t want to worry him… “He said he doesn’t know anything for sure…”

“He said that the other doctor noted that you may need surgery.”

“Which is why I’m supposed to be on bed rest,” she told him. 

“That’s serious, Pep”

“It’s not this kind of serious,” she said and reached out to tap where she knew the arc reactor was. She cringed when she stretched a bit too far and her back protested. 

“Pep—“

“I’m fine!” she told him, snapping a bit and then immediately regretting it. Tears fell from her eyes as she screwed them shut. She opened them a moment later and saw how worried he looked. “I’m sorry—“

“No… It’s okay,” he told her. 

“I didn’t mean to snap,” she told him. Things were confusing and hard. She was in pain and scared and just flat out exhausted. 

“It’s okay.”

“Where is everyone?” she asked as she let her eyes close again. 

His hand was slowly and gently running along her face. “They’re all gone… Happy’s going to call in when he’s on his way back… He says that he’ll take you to get things from your place if you want to stay here…”

“Tony—“

“I didn’t tell him anything.”

“What about Rhodey or Obadiah?”

“Rhodey thinks that things are going to be back to normal and that the kisses were just because of everything we went through,” he told her. “I think that’s what Obadiah thinks too.” He paused for a moment. “They’re not, right?”

She opened her eyes and he was there staring at her. Pepper was still scared… Not of the idea of having surgery, not right at this moment, but of her job…of what Obadiah could do… Could she risk it? Could Tony protect her? He was changed; she knew and saw that…but could he? Pepper didn’t know if she could really, honestly, and sanely continue to work for Tony without at least pursuing what had started in that cave in Afghanistan. Could she live with such a huge regret? She didn’t think so…

Cringing the whole time, she moved around so that she was lying on her stomach and she was facing him. She was sure that this was probably the worst position to be lying in, but she wasn’t changing into another position just yet. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for another kiss. 

All of her life she’d done the right thing. She’d done things that she was supposed to in order to get ahead in school, at work, and in life… She hadn’t left her so much time to enjoy it… But her job with Tony, it was what supported the lifestyle she had right now…she knew that. The clothes, the shoes, where she lived… This could put that in jeopardy, but right now…

She had to take that chance.

Not matter how much her business side told her not to do it. She had to give in to her softer and more emotional side. Pepper felt like she deserved it… And after everything she’d been through, didn’t she deserve to see if it actually went somewhere? What would it be like if she just ignored that? She didn’t want to know. 

She kissed him again and smiled against his lips. 

“That’s five you know,” he told her.

“I’m not sure you can count much higher,” she teased.

He pulled her an inch to him and kissed her this time. “Six.” He kissed her again. “Seven.”

Pepper giggled.

The sound of Happy’s voice broke their moment and Pepper immediately found herself whimpering as she tried to move into a sitting position. Tony was there to help and while she appreciated it, she still didn’t want Happy to know. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of what she felt for Tony…it was just that out of everyone, she feared Happy judging her most of all. She had worked very close to Happy since she’d been employed as Tony’s assistant and she didn’t want there to be any kind of rift between them. 

“What about eight?” he whined.

“Behave,” she told him sternly. Pepper moved from Tony and flopped onto her other side and covered her mouth when a sob tried to escape her lips. Her back really was killing her. Lying on her stomach had been a really stupid idea… 

“Pep,” he said and frowned over at her. “Let me look at your back…” He reached out and started to move up her blouse. She’d already removed her blazer when she’d originally come in to take a nap. 

Pepper batted at his hand. “Tony…no…” The door opened just then and Pepper was frowning.

“What the hell are you doing?” Happy asked. He set the things down and started to make his way around the bed to Tony. 

“Happy…it’s okay…” Pepper tried telling him, it didn’t look like it slowed him. Really, this was Tony’s fault… He’d brought it upon himself.

Instead of Happy exploding at Tony though, he stopped and just stood frozen. Pepper realized that with the exposed skin that he could probably see the bruising. She reached back and cringed from the movement and covered herself. Most of her arms were exposed, but she had a feeling that the swelling that had returned probably made it look worse. 

“Pepper…” Happy breathed. 

“I was just checking for swelling,” Tony told Happy and seemed really confused now. 

She moved in bed again and couldn’t hold back the whimper. She’d been on her side and had been trying to avoid the pressure on her spine. Pepper watched as Tony left the room, he’d been motioning something, but whatever it was…Pepper didn’t understand. She looked over to Happy. “I’m okay…”

“Your back…” Happy whispered. She could see tears in his eyes and he looked so upset. 

Pepper felt like she had to take care of everything and everyone still. With Happy, though, she really didn’t mind. She patted the area of bedding next to her. “Sit…”

“If I’d have been there—“

“Don’t you start,” she told him. She leaned against him and painfully wrapped an arm around him. “I don’t want to even begin to think of what they’d have done to you…”

“I could have protected you,” he told her.

“Not from the shrapnel,” Pepper told him. “Plus, Tony worked as a shield on that one.” When she heard Happy laugh a little, it brought a smile to her face.

“Sometimes he’s good for something.”

“Sometimes,” she repeated. He put an arm lightly around her and she squeezed him with her arm. “I just…I really need you right now…”

“You know I’ll do anything for you… Anything…”

And she knew that. She knew that Happy would do anything she’d asked. “I need you to tell me if Obadiah says anything weird about me to you…”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She really wanted to avoid telling him everything…at least right now. “I don’t know… He seemed different in Afghanistan… He was happy to see me and seemed to want me to take time off and heal…”

“And then he had me bring you everything and you were back on the clock the moment you got off of the plane,” Happy filled in. “I thought that was weird… I had just assumed that it had been discussed when he was there…”

“The doctor said that I really need a lot of bed rest,” she told him. “I’m swelling along my spine again…that’s not what they want to see…”

“You have to be in a lot of pain…” 

“You got me my pain medication,” she pointed out. “I should be feeling better soon…”

“What else do you need?”

“She needs food…and a comfy bed…and for us to wait on her,” Tony said. He’d returned with a glass of water and cheese and crackers. She supposed that she should be fairly impressed at his snack he’d prepared. 

“No,” she said and looked over at him. “You are supposed to be on bed rest, too…”

“The doctor said I’m fine…”

Pepper just stared at him. “You have a hole in your chest…”

“There’s an arc reactor in it… No bits or blood or anything is falling out…” he told her and acted like it was nothing.

“Where’s your nurse?”

“He came by—“

“He?” Happy questioned. 

“Obadiah,” Tony and Pepper responded together.

“I sent him home,” Tony said. “Told him I didn’t need him… It was all a big mistake…” 

Pepper sighed. “You did that on purpose…”

“Yes.” Tony paused for a moment. “But not for the reasons you think…”

“He wanted us both stuck here,” Happy told her.

Pepper nodded. “For exactly the reasons we think…”

 

. . .

 

Pepper found herself in the room that Happy had started calling ‘her room’. Melted ice packs were all along her spine, which made her not want to move, but at the same time…she felt a little stronger and less achy. She just didn’t know if there would be any kind of pain when she actually moved. The pain was the hardest part…it kept her from being able to embrace being home fully…

“Do you feel better?”

The voice surprised her, but mainly because she hadn’t seen him at first. He hadn’t been in her line of vision when she’d opened her eyes. He was off in a dark corner sitting in a chair. Pepper smiled and then shook her head. “You shouldn’t be here…”

“Have you seen how Happy sleeps?” Tony asked. He quickly repositioned himself to look very uncomfortable, his head back at a weird angle, and then started to imitate snoring. 

Pepper laughed. “I am aware…”

“The house could come down around him and I think we’d have to save ourselves,” Tony told her quite seriously. “Maybe I need a dog…”

“I don’t need animal control here trying to do some kind of intervention because they found out that the dog got sprayed with a fire extinguisher by DUM-E…or that he ends up running wild on the grounds…or something…” Pepper told him. 

“Okay…maybe I need a robot dog… Like K9. The Doctor had K9.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know,” he said. “If you did, this conversation would be turning me on a lot more…”

Pepper sighed and shook her head again. “You’re still impossible,” she told him. She pushed back the covers and moved to a sitting position. There was some pain, but not a lot. She gathered all of the melted ice packs to one area of the bed. She was happy that she’d gotten up a few hours before to take two pain pills. She saw that he was watching her and she wondered if he’d been in there all night… It wouldn’t surprise her…Tony was always one that didn’t need much sleep… She wouldn’t have even noticed him just sitting there when she’d gotten up to use the bathroom or take her pills in the dark. 

“You shouldn’t get out of bed,” Tony told her.

“Well, I need to use the bathroom,” she told him. Before he could respond, she held out a finger. “Don’t even suggest it… I can at the very least use the bathroom on my own… It’s not that much walking…” She got up and made her way across the room and into the bathroom, closing and locking the door…just in case he got any ideas. 

She was counting the minutes until he started to panic. She needed to start her morning routine, though… It was going to help her feel normal…or at least that was what she kept telling herself. Pepper started the shower while she brushed her teeth. Happy had not picked up her pain medication, but had picked up some things he knew she’d need. A toothbrush and toothpaste had been two of those things. She was already planning on going over to her place today and picking up some things since Tony had fired the nurse and they just couldn’t leave him alone for long extended periods of time… 

“Pep,” he said as he started to knock on the door. 

Four minutes.

“Tony, I’m fine,” she called back to him. She stripped out of her clothing and neatly stacked everyone on the closed toilet lid. She didn’t want to risk bending over and possibly hurting when she got out. 

“What if you fall?”

“I’ll yell,” she told him as she rolled her eyes a bit.

“I don’t know if I have the strength to knock down this door,” he called back.

Pepper sighed and wrapped herself in a towel. She unlocked the door and popped it open to peek out at him. “I don’t want you in here sitting…”

“Pep,” he whispered and then somehow they were suddenly kissing. His hands were on her face and she let go of her hold on the door. The door swung open and Tony stepped a foot inside.

Pepper wasn’t sure if she wanted to stop him or if she wanted this to go forward. All she knew was that right now, she felt alive…and this felt right… She wondered if he was wondering what she was thinking right now… If he wondered how far he could take this without her stopping it or smacking him. Both were options she’d considered. She wasn’t going to do that though… Instead, she decided that she needed to push forward to show him it was okay. 

Her hand reached out to grasp the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head, breaking the kiss for a moment. His lips were back a moment later and she smiled against them. She could hear working on removing his own pants. Pepper ran her hands down his spine and shuddered when his kisses moved from her lips to the crook of her neck and along her shoulder. 

“Pep…” he whispered into a kiss. 

She had to push away the screaming thoughts of her more business self. She didn’t want to hear about how she shouldn’t do this… How this was going to come out to sleeping with her boss or how she’d been through a serious trauma and she’d regret it tomorrow… She didn’t want to regret anything… She didn’t want to be dying tomorrow in a car accident and thinking of all the regrets she had…and how much she hadn’t lived… She wouldn’t have that… She couldn’t bear it.

He was backing her towards the shower and she knew that they were close. She was still wrapped in the towel and he was still in his boxers… Pepper let the towel drop and pulled him the rest of the way in, not caring if he still retained an article of clothing. He pulled the shower door closed and they were wrapped in each other’s arms, their lips dropping kisses. 

“Are you sure?” Tony said as her hand touched the waistband of his boxers. 

“Yes,” she whispered before kissing his lips. Pepper stopped and watched him for a moment. She was so certain that he was worried about her, but now she saw that he was worried…maybe doubting himself? “Tony…” she whispered and ran a hand through his hair as the water hit them. “Are you sure?”

“I ruin everything,” he admitted. 

Pepper frowned and she knew what he meant. He’d always been self-destructive…maybe that was so fitting that he designed weapons… He never had relationships. They were always one-night stands…and he only stayed around long enough for sex and then he was done. He didn’t really run the company, that had been left up for Obadiah to do. His parents had expected him to do all of that…

“You don’t ruin everything,” she whispered and the laid her head on his shoulder. They held each other and she nuzzled into the crook of his neck. She closed her eyes and tears fell from her eyes and joined the water running down them. She felt so bad that he seemed so torn. Their relationship had never been more than boss/employee or even friends…and it really had been a relationship that she’d ensured was always professional. 

She loved the feeling of their bodies pressed together… The arc reactor was a little to get used to, but she didn’t care. It was what was keeping Tony alive…and she couldn’t complain about that. Pepper just stood there with him like that for a while, wanting him to be okay with what they were about to do…that it wasn’t just lust or the mystery…or some fantasy unfulfilled…

“You’re breathtaking,” he whispered.

Pepper blushed and nuzzled into his neck more. He’d complimented her before, but this was different. And she knew that he meant it. She could feel it in his voice. Her hands continued to trace over his spine and back, just waiting…

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered a moment later.

She looked up at him and smiled at him. “You really don’t,” she teased and then kissed him. 

“I’m being serious,” he told her.

Her kiss silenced him again and she just grinned at him. “When have you been so serious before?” 

“Only with you, Pep…”

She smiled at him and she knew he was okay. There was still some hesitation there, but she’d work on banishing it. Pepper reached down and pushed down his waistband and tried to get rid of his boxers. She brought up a foot along his leg and used her toes to make sure that they found the floor of the shower. Her lips were on him again as their bodies fully pressed against each other. His hands were traveling along her sides, finding all of her curves. 

He moved her around as he kissed her. And as her back hit the cold tile was a little more force than she knew that Tony had meant, she let out a whimper. Maybe the shower wasn’t the friendliest place for them to be doing this… She was sure that she’d hurt no matter what, but this was worth it…and she didn’t want to wait… What if they didn’t have this chance again?

“I’m—“

Her finger was on his lips before he could finish his apology. “I’m okay,” she whispered and smiled at him. 

“You know…it’s been a while since I’ve done this without alcohol…” Tony mumbled as a hand ran through Pepper’s hair and the other continued to explore the bare skin that had been hidden away for so many years. 

“I’m sure we can do this without you being completely intoxicated,” Pepper told him with a smile and kissed his cheek before kissing his shoulder. Maybe they were both nervous… It was nice, though, that they were both taking things slow. She’d half worried that Tony would be so excited that they’d be done before they really even started… 

“Things might not work the same…”

Pepper sighed and kissed his lips. She pressed her forehead against his. “Tony, everything will work…” She hadn’t felt him hard against her yet and she wondered if that was what he was so worried about… If he couldn’t perform when they actually were together like this… She wrapped an arm around his neck, holding his close, as she continued to kiss him. How happy she was that they didn’t go further in the cave… It was so much better that things had gone the way they had between them… 

She lifted her leg slowly, letting it run along the outside of his leg. She heard him gasp and she just smiled in response. She continued until her leg was hooked around his hip and she pressed herself against him. His body responded and she just grinned at him. “Nothing wrong,” she told him before kissing him again. 

“I love being proven wrong,” he told her. “By you,” he added a moment later. “And especially, like this…” He pressed his head against hers so that their temples rested against each other. 

“I’m going to remind you of that later, I’m sure.”

“I’m sure,” he said with another grin. 

She felt him moving as he continued to press against her and she figured he was probably feeling a lot better about himself. He started to kiss her shoulder again, but stead of going along her shoulder blade, he moved back a bit and brought his attention to her breasts. 

“Pepper? Are you okay?” 

They both froze at Happy’s voice. Pepper let her head fall back and she sighed. She noticed Tony opening his mouth and she covered it with her hand and gave him a very stern look. “I’m fine, Happy!” she called.

“I don’t want you to fall.”

She frowned deeply. They were both going to be disappointed. Tony was already shaking his head at her. “I’m almost done,” she called. 

“I’m going to go pull out breakfast and get the coffee started.”

“Thanks.”

“Have you seen Tony?” Happy asked.

“Not since last night,” she lied and hated herself a little for it. 

“Okay, don’t be long…”

She knew that he was worrying. He really didn’t need to be, but he didn’t know that. “Okay.” She waited until the sound of the door being shut could be heard and then she just looked at him.

“Pepper—“

“We can’t…not right now…”

He buried his head into her shoulder. “It’s not fair…” he whined a bit.

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head. “I know…”

“People are out to keep us apart…”

Pepper smiled. “I doubt that’s actually what they’re thinking…”

“You’d be surprised…”

“You surprise me everyday.”

 

. . .

TBC...


	3. No One Asked the Peanut Gallery

The day went by quietly and Pepper had gotten far too much sleeping in. She was sure that the pain medication was helping…and then Tony and Happy were always making sure that she was icing her back on and off again to help with the swelling. Pepper watched as Tony left with the ice packs to throw it back into the freezer, she noticed that he was walking oddly. Almost like he was limping. 

The doctors really needed to get back to them with results. Given that he was Tony Stark, she was surprised that they hadn’t gotten back to them the same day. Though, she was sure that Obadiah would have made it necessary for him to know the details right then and there if they had. It was one thing if Tony or Happy knew, but to Pepper…she didn’t want Obadiah knowing unless she shared those details with him. 

Tony returned and sat back down in the chair that he’d claimed as his seat in that room. “You know, maybe I can convince Happy to go home…”

Pepper giggled. “Good luck with that…”

“But I’m fine…”

“He’s not too worried about you,” she pointed out.

“Why do you always have to be the damsel in distress?” he teased.

Pepper shook her head. “If I remember correctly, I’m the one who made it to Camp Joyce first…and told the Army to go out and find you…and I was prepared to stay until they dragged you out of that desert…”

Tony just smiled. “I’ve been thinking…”

“Dangerous.”

“About the company… It’s direction…” Tony told her and then he was quiet for a long moment. She’d noticed that he wasn’t really looking at her, but staring off into space sort of down at the ground. “About what I create…and what I want to bring to the world…”

“I thought about that on the plane…not that I create anything…but the difference I’d like to make in the world,” she told him. She tilted her head as she watched him. He was so different than he was six months ago… She didn’t know why no one else seemed to see it and comment. It was so plain to her. 

“Tell me about it,” Tony prompted.

“The women in that region…” Pepper said. “They’re subjected to all kinds of horrors… Rape, being beaten, being tortured, acid being poured on them, being sold as child brides, and feeling so horrible that they feel the need to set themselves on fire…”

“So, what do you want to do about that?”

“I would like to set up an organization that could help those women… A safe house… Someplace where they can get an education… Someplace that’s going to truly keep them safe and provide a better future for them,” she told him. “But…I don’t know if I can make it happen…”

“I could,” Tony told her. 

“I know.”

And they were both quiet for a while. “Stark Industries…has made weapons for the military for decades… And after nearly being killed by one of my own missiles and seeing where my weapons had ended up… I don’t want to make weapons anymore,” he confessed. “I wanted to tell Obadiah yesterday that we need to stop production…”

“That’s what Stark Industries produces,” Pepper pointed out. She understood though. She was just playing the devil’s advocate. “Obadiah wouldn’t go along with it or convince the board of a change unless you had something better to offer up.”

“I just might…but it wouldn’t be for the military…and I don’t know how it would really benefit the company…”

“Would it benefit you?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“How?”

“I could make a difference…”

“I like it already,” she whispered. 

 

. . .

 

The phone rang and Pepper felt sick before she even answered it. She had a feeling what the doctor was going to say and she was right. She was going to have to have surgery and she was already worrying about it. Though in truth, she’d worried about it when it had been mentioned. He promised that they’d make sure that there was minimal scaring and that she’d only have to stay one day as long as she had someone in home to take care of her. 

Stark Industries had excellent health care and she knew that Tony would see to it that everything was taken care of, so she really wasn’t worried about that. The doctor had boosted about how she’d be going to the number one hospital in the area to have the surgery done and the best in the fields would be there to do it. None of that surprised her. She just…she wanted to skip that part…she wanted to jump to the part where she was okay… 

“Did the doctor call?” Tony asked from her doorway.

She nodded.

“Me too…”

“And?”

“I have severely bruised ribs… Concussion… Fractured ankle… Uh… He might have said something else… I sort of stopped listening because I didn’t care,” Tony admitted. “He says that I need to go in tomorrow and have some stuff done and a script for pills…” He just seemed irritated about the whole thing. 

“I’ll make sure that Happy takes you and accompanies you,” she told him.

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you think that I’m just going to ignore the doctor?”

“Well, you’re putting weight on both of your ankles…and one of them is fractured… And you’ve been walking on it for who knows how long it’s been fractured… And you have a concussion… Didn’t he give you any orders for the time being?”

“Probably…”

Pepper sighed. He was impossible. She patted the bed beside her. “Come here…” she told him. He was there making himself comfortable in an instant.

“What if Happy comes in?” Tony teased.

“He’ll yell at you,” she told him seriously. “And try to defend my honor…”

“Good to know,” Tony told her as he stared up at the ceiling. “What did the doctor tell you?”

“I have to have surgery,” Pepper told him. “Which should result in fixing whatever vertebrae have been dislocated or damaged in anyway…and he said it should eventually result in no more pain… I have broken ribs…but you can’t brace them or anything…and he’s surprised I don’t have more pain from them…”

“You have been on pain killers… Good pain killers…”

“But he said that I might feel pain when I breathe…”

“Maybe you just haven’t smacked them around or you’ve just become used to it,” Tony told her. He seemed to get really upset all of the sudden. “Probably from when they—“ He stopped and his hand curled into a fist as he covered his mouth. She could see the anger and rage in his face. He was trying to stay calm. 

She rolled onto her side and cringed. Maybe that was what the doctor was talking about and she’d just been blaming her back all of this time. No wonder she couldn’t find a comfortable position. “Shh…” she whispered. She kissed his cheek and then just laid there, her body up against his. 

“I can’t stop thinking about—“

“Me either,” she admitted. “I try to dream about something else… But that’s all I can think about… Being in that cave…” She closed her eyes as tears fall. “But I try to fall asleep thinking of you holding me…hoping that it will help…”

She noticed that when he wrapped his arms around her that he was so much more careful. “Maybe we should sleep like that…to keep those nightmares at bay…”

Pepper smiled against him and wrapped her arms around him. It really wasn’t a horrible idea. “I might like that…”

“I think that would really require me to get rid of Happy… Give him the week off… Convince him that nurse is coming back…”

“Good luck with that…”

“What did he say about the surgery? When is that?” 

“Friday.”

“Friday,” Tony repeated. “What else?”

“I have to be in the hospital for a day… Just to make sure everything is okay… I can go home as long as I have someone to take care of me and help me with stuff,” she told him. “He says that I might need physical therapy… But that I might be okay just doing exercises at home too…”

“I want you to stay here,” Tony told her.

“Tony—“

“Let me talk,” he told her firmly.

She just stared up at him. “Let me take care of you… I’ve done it before… I think I’m starting to get the hang of it…”

“You’re injured too, you know,” she pointed out as she ran her hand along his chest and then let her fingers dance around the fabric that covered his arc reactor. It really had become a comfort to her. She wasn’t sure why… Was it the light? Was it because it kept him safe? Was it because she knew with it working that Tony was alive? Was it because in that cave Tony changed and she loved that Tony? She wasn’t sure…

“I can manage.”

“They’ll probably put you in a cast or a brace.”

“I can hobble,” he told her.

“Tony—“

“You’re still worried about what people think,” Tony told her. And he’d called her out. He was absolutely correct, though she hated to admit it. “Please tell me you’re not worried about Happy? Though I do get a little worried that he might try to beat me up if I’m too close to you…” She grinned in response. “It’s Obadiah though, isn’t it?”

Pepper nodded. “I know…it’s stupid…but there’s something going on with him… I just don’t know what… I don’t know if he’s worried that I’m going to file some kind of sexual harassment suit or something about Afghanistan… Or if he simply doesn’t want us to have any kind of relationship that isn’t strictly professional…”

“Let me handle Obadiah…” 

“When have you really handled Obadiah?”

“I can start learning…”

Pepper just smiled. She thought it was sweet that he really seemed to be changed and willing to change things. She just hoped that it was really for the better. “It’s a lot harder than it sounds, you know…”

“I’m a quick learner when I want to be…”

“That means less time down in your workshop…”

Tony shrugged. “It would be worth it. Plus, I don’t sleep much.”

“Oh, I know…”

He grinned at her and kissed her forehead. “I can think of someone who could keep me in bed all night…”

“Oh?” she teased. “You’d stay until morning?”

“And possibly try to keep you there longer…”

“Longer?” she continued to tease.

“I might never leave bed,” he told her and then kissed her lips.

“What the hell are you doing, Tony?” Happy’s voice suddenly filled the room.

Before Pepper could say anything, Happy was grabbing the back of Tony’s shirt and dragging him from the bed and onto the ground. She covered her mouth and tried not to laugh. What was she supposed to do? Tell him that they were kissing…that Tony was kissing her and she was returning the kiss? Okay, so she could tell him…

“Happy! His ribs! They’re bruised!” she shouted as she got off of the bed and pulled at Happy, who was now on top of Tony, holding onto the front of his shirt. 

“They’re going to be more than bruised when I get done with him!” Happy told her.

“No!” she shouted. “Stop!” He looked over at her and tears had begun to fall down her face. She covered her face as Happy pulled his fist back. She couldn’t watch. “Stop!” she screamed and pulled on Happy. For a moment all she could think about was how bruised Tony had been when they’d finally been allowed back…after Tony refused to cooperate the first time. 

“Pep… I’m sorry…” Happy said and dropped his hold of Tony and scooted towards her. She shook her head at him. 

“Leave her alone,” Tony said as he pulled Happy back a bit. She didn’t know if he knew what she was thinking of… If that’s what he’d thought of… Of being back in that cave… Of everything that had happened… 

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Happy snapped and moved his elbow back and hit Tony in the eye. Pepper watched as Tony yelled and covered his eye and then Happy turned and was immediately apologized. “Tony, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean—“

Tony was laughing though. “I bet you’ve wanted to do that for years…”

“You have no idea,” Happy told him seriously and then burst out laughing a moment later.

“I’m sorry, Tony,” Pepper whispered. She felt so bad. Their fighting was all her fault. She’d tried so hard to keep things a secret… And if Happy had known, he wouldn’t have reacted how he’d reacted.

“I’m fine, Pep,” Tony told her. “You okay?” 

Happy looked at her and she could see his confusion. “Why are you apologizing to him?”

“Because I’m the boss,” Tony told Happy and she could tell that he was trying to avoid the subject and get Happy out of the room. 

“Tony—“

“Pep, you don’t have to,” Tony told her quickly. 

“What’s going on?” Happy asked as he looked between them. “I hate being left out… I’m never left out… You two always tell me everything…”

Pepper suddenly felt worse. She sat down on the edge of the bed and covered her face. She tried to think about what she was going to say and how she was going to explain things… She just didn’t want him to think of her differently… She wanted things to be the same between them, but she knew it wouldn’t be…even if Happy didn’t freak out about it…

“We should have told you when we got home,” Pepper whispered, but couldn’t bring herself to look at them.

“Pep,” Tony interrupted. “We got home yesterday… We don’t have to do this now…”

“I don’t want to upset you, Pepper,” Happy said quickly. 

She shook her head. “No, you don’t understand… I don’t want to upset you,” she told him and then looked up at him. “You’ve been such a dear friend all of these years… I don’t want you to be disappointed in me…”

“Really?” Tony asked.

“Go,” she told Tony and pointed to the door. 

“Pep…”

“Go,” she repeated and found her resolve wavering. She suddenly didn’t want to tell Happy again, but she’d come this far. What if he really hated her? What if he treated her differently? Obadiah had. She waited for a moment and then looked up. Happy looked even more confused.

“He’s listening…a bit better than normal…but mainly to you,” Happy observed.

And there was a reason for that. “Tony and I…are…” What word did she use? They weren’t dating… What were they doing? They were kissing…cuddling…and almost went the whole way… 

“You and Tony?” Happy asked. He looked absolutely shocked and she was starting to worry about him having a stroke right there… “Seriously?”

“I don’t know what it is…not yet…to be honest,” she told him and she continued to worry. Pepper watched him as he seemed to turn colors. She wondered if he was thinking about punching Tony more now. 

“Was this before…?”

Pepper stopped and just stared at him for a long moment. “God, no…” That sounded so wrong, but she wasn’t like that. Drunk Tony who slept with a different girl every night wasn’t the Tony that she’d found herself longing to be in his arms… “He’s sober… He had to be…” She was so quiet and looked down. “He tried his best to take care of me…”

“He didn’t do a very good job,” Happy mumbled. “I should punch him for that…”

Pepper got up from the edge of the bed and crossed the room to him. She reached out and rested a hand on his arm. “He really did his best… He made me feel safe…”

“I could make you feel safe, Pep,” Happy whispered. 

It took her a moment to really go over what he said. At first, it didn’t make sense to her. Happy had always kept her and Tony safe… No, he meant that he could take care of her… That he could be the person who loved her… She let out a gasp and moved her hand a bit from his arm as the realization spread over her. How long had he felt like that about her? Did Tony know? How could she not know? They’d worked together for so long… He’d always been nothing but kind and attentive to her. “Happy…”

“It’s okay, Pep.”

“I didn’t know,” she whispered and looked down. 

His hand was on her cheek. She felt so stupid. Here she was admitting that she was in some kind of maybe relationship with Tony…and Happy was in love with her… Or maybe he just had a crush? She didn’t know… But it broke her heart a little bit… Did she just make everything worse? “Of course you didn’t… I didn’t want you too… I didn’t think you felt the same way…”

“I…I never thought about it,” she admitted and then looked up at him. 

“You’re always so focused on work…and being professional,” Happy told her and then shrugged. “I didn’t think you even really knew I existed…”

“Of course I knew you existed.”

“But in that way…”

“To be truthful, you’re right… But neither did Tony… It was always all about the job,” she told him. She tilted her head a bit and hoped that he understood. “I realized that you can’t just be solely focused on work… That I have to live… That the future isn’t guaranteed… Tomorrow, I might end up in a car crash and that’ll be it… I don’t want regrets.”

“Don’t say that…”

She smiled. “I know you wouldn’t crash the car.”

“Still…”

“I saw things in Afghanistan, Happy… I’m still working through it… All I know, is that I need to change my life… And right now, I want to explore things with Tony…”

Happy pulled her into a hug and she felt relief rush over her. “I could never be disappointed in you, Pepper…” He hugged her tight for a moment and she tried to hold back the pain and the whimpers. He wasn’t meaning to hurt her and she feared that it would hurt him more than it was hurting her. “Never…” She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. It was definitely a weight… And suddenly she wondered if she could recover there at the house after her surgery… As long as she didn’t have to worry about Happy and Tony breaking out into fist fights…

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“And you know, if Tony does something or gives you a hard time… I’ll punch him for you,” Happy offered.

Pepper laughed and just savored him holding her even if it hurt. It made her feel so much better about where they were and she knew hat she could count on him to keep an eye out for her. He had promised to let her know if Obadiah said something… And really, it was for the best… The three of them needed to be united… That way Obadiah couldn’t use any of them against each other… 

“You know… It’s been at least thirty seconds of touching…”

They both laughed, but neither of them moved. Tony could deal with it. She wondered if he was legitimately jealous of Happy or if he was just teasing. She didn’t know if Tony got jealous… She didn’t think he really had much experience… Though, she knew that he’d never liked it when she had plans… She liked it when her plans were always with him doing whatever he needed. It was good for him to have to deal for a minute.

“Seriously… I’m going to have to get in there,” Tony said. “Make it into a group hug…”

“I thought you were banished,” Happy told him and finally looked up and over at Tony. He was leaning in the doorway. He didn’t look too serious about it.

“But it’s my house…so I don’t think I can technically be banished.”

Pepper sighed and shook her head. She held out an arm to him. “Shut up,” she told him lightly. He walked the few steps to them and hugged them, but she noticed that he held her tighter and just lightly put his arm around Happy. It was really the closest thing to a group hug they’d get. Plus, they were probably really the two people in the world that Tony would get this close to…physically and emotionally…

 

. . .

 

“You know, we have to play this smart,” Happy told them.

“I’m smart,” Tony quipped.

“Smartass,” Happy amended.

Pepper was trying not to laugh. She swore that they were having some sort of contest for her attention or something. It was a little amusing and they weren’t beating each other, so it was okay. Tony was still icing his eye, though. That would be interesting to explain to Obadiah. She was sure that he’d end up with a black eye.

“We need to seriously get stuff figured out,” Happy told him. 

“You do that. Write me notes on some cards—“

“You’ll rip them up or just not read them…”

“Fair enough…”

“Maybe JARVIS could have automated responses ready… I could record them… Then, I could hide in my workshop and JARVIS could just talk to Obadiah and pretend to be me.”

“That’s actually the closest thing to a smart idea that I’ve heard so far,” Happy told him.

“I’m better with building stuff,” Tony said. “In my defense…”

“I hope so.”

“If you want booby traps or a better mousetrap, I’m your man.”

Pepper sighed and shook her head. At least they were playing nice. That was really all they could ask for. “So, are you two really sure about this….because—“

“No,” Happy and Tony spoke up in unison.

“You’re going to stay here,” Tony said.

“You need someone to do stuff… I can do that,” Happy said. “Then you can still yell at Tony… It’s sort of a win-win…”

“I feel like I should be offended…”

“Maybe you are a genius,” Happy teased.

Pepper rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to put up with you two…”

“We’re going to be on our best behavior…” Tony said.

“I don’t think you have a best behavior,” Pepper countered.

Tony looked like he was thinking for a long moment. He pointed at her. “You know…you may be right about that…”

“I think I am.”

“I think she is,” Happy chimed up.

“No one asked the peanut gallery…”

 

. . .

 

TBC...


	4. Backpedaling

“Pepper said—“

“Pepper’s not the boss of me.”

“Yes, she is.”

“No, she’s not.”

“I want to hear you tell her that—“

“Nevermind.”

She smiled as she listened to them. She’d taken pain pills about thirty minutes before after Happy had informed her that Tony was in fact, up and dressed, and that he’d be making sure he went to his doctor’s appointment. Tony didn’t like anyone to tell him what to do or be in charge of him, she knew that, but she was in charge of him anyways…and so was Happy… They were the people who kept him out of trouble, at least most times… 

“What if she needs us?”

“She has her cell phone.”

“But what if it falls off of the bed and she can’t reach it?”

“She has JARVIS.”

“But—“

“No matter what excuse you throw at me, you’re still going to the doctors.”

“I don’t want a cast or brace…”

“You’re going to do whatever the doctor wants and you’re going to deal with it.”

“If it’s a cast, can I pick the color?”

“I’ll make sure that I tell the doctor that you want pink.”

“That doesn’t match my outfit for later…”

“It’ll accentuate the black and grey.”

“Good point… But you know, black would be good too… Or blue… Hot rod red?”

“I’ll put in those suggestions.”

“Excellent.”

Pepper shook her head as she listened and wondered how much trouble Tony would actually be for the doctor. At least she was fairly certain that Happy could hold Tony down, if needed. She wasn’t sure how much comfort that gave her though. She already was feeling bad for the doctors and nurses.

“You know, normally…the doctors come to me…”

“Today, you’re going to pretend to be a normal person.”

“I don’t like being a normal person. I’m not a normal person. Why do I have to pretend to be one if I’m not one?”

“Well, some of us have to live in the real world. It wouldn’t kill you to venture out into it once in a while.”

“I hate the real world… It’s full of media…and responsibilities…”

“Suck it up.”

Oh, Tony…

Sometimes he sounded so much like the Tony who had lived there six months ago and she supposed it was good to know that he was still that Tony… But really, she liked the new and improved sober one much better. She just hoped that she wouldn’t get any phone calls from Happy even though she’d told him that he could call her if she needed to straighten him out over the phone. Knowing Tony, it was highly possible.

But she just wanted to sleep. 

The pain was still there and she’d started getting really bad headaches. The doctor had told her that if she developed them that they were normal given her injuries and would go away hopefully after the surgery. Right now, she wished that she were in recovery from that surgery already. The sooner that she and Tony were taken care of, health wise, the sooner that they’d both be able to get back to work for Stark Industries… 

The closer they’d all be to their new normal…

Thing were going to change.

 

. . .

 

“See? It’s ridiculous… Happy said I still had to have it,” Tony complained to her. He’d moved his chair closer to her bed and had his foot propped up on the edge of the bed. “I wanted the air cast, but Happy insisted that they put this plaster abomination on me!”

“The doctor said it was the more protective and better option,” Happy defended.

Pepper just smiled as they both went over what had happened. She’d slept for three hours and had been brought back lunch. She had sort of hoped that they would have brought lunch to eat with her, but they’d eaten at the restaurant. “You didn’t get him ice cream?” Pepper teased.

“He did whine about needing some kind of treat for behaving,” Happy told her as he used air quotes when saying behaving. 

“I did! I behaved!” Tony defended.

“I’m sure you did,” she told him.

“Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because I know you,” Pepper said. “I know what your version of behaving and the rest of the world’s version is…”

“Maybe the rest of the world is wrong…”

“Maybe…” she whispered and shut her eyes. She put her container of food on the nightstand and adjusted her position. It was hard to sit up without pain hitting her. She hated to lie there on her side though because there was still pain and it was so awkward…and then she felt the need for them both to sit on the same side of the bed so that she could see them.

“Maybe we should see if we can get you in sooner,” Happy suggested with a frown.

It really wasn’t a horrible idea, but she still wasn’t too excited about the surgery itself. “I thought they gave me the soonest appointment possible,” Pepper told them. 

“How much pain are you in?” Tony asked. She could see the worry in his face. He was being serious. Tony wasn’t serious. That was her job. 

“I took pain pills—“

“Pep, you have to tell us…”

“As much pain as before…when we were in the cave,” Pepper told him. She frowned and just wanted to curl up, if it didn’t hurt so much, and just sleep the day away. Of course, the pain always found her in her sleep.

“After Yinsen gave you the pain pills?” he asked.

She nodded and wondered how he knew. Did it show that much? Or maybe he just knew her more than she’d realized… Maybe all those years they’d worked together, he’d really been paying attention… She didn’t know what it was… Pepper was just thankful to have him and Happy there… She really wasn’t sure how it would have been if she’d just gone home.

“Why didn’t you tell us that it was worse?” Happy asked, he was obviously worried and upset too. 

“The pain pills they gave me at Camp Joyce are the same that they’re giving me now… Same dosage and medication,” Pepper told them. “I just thought that it wasn’t as effective as it was before…”

“There’s something wrong is the problem,” Tony told her.

“That’s probably the reason why the doctor ordered surgery,” Pepper told him, in an attempt to lighten the mood. It didn’t. Happy and Tony were both looking quite serious and quite worried. 

“I’m going to go make calls,” Tony told her as he got up from his chair, he was careful with his casted foot. 

“He shouldn’t be on it,” Pepper said after Tony left the room. 

“He’s the calmest I’ve seen him all day when he’s with you. He’ll just sit in here… That’s what he needs to do,” Happy told her. “So, let him make the calls… Let’s get you in a day or two early… And I’ll make sure that he stays off of it.”

Pepper just nodded. She felt a little guilty, but at the same time…she knew it wasn’t going to kill her to let other people take care of her. 

“I’m going to go check on him,” Happy told her and got up as well. “Is there anything you want me to get you?”

“No,” Pepper responded quietly. “Thank you, though…”

“Don’t forget your food,” he reminded and pointed to it.

Pepper just nodded. It really was weird not to be the caregiver. She was normally the one who did the reminding and forcing Tony to do things that he didn’t want to do. She made all of the important decisions, but made him feel like he’d made it. It was a weird system, but she’d gotten used to it. It was how things worked. 

 

. . .

 

“You’re going to feel better,” Tony told her. “The doctor said that you shouldn’t feel worse.” 

She wondered if this was his pep talk. 

Somehow, Tony Stark had managed to get her doctor to agree to up the procedure to take place in less than twelve hours. He’d promised that the doctor would be rested enough to do it and given the time it would take place, they wouldn’t have to deal with media. Or at least that was the idea. Happy had told her that there hadn’t been so many that had followed them earlier, but it had still been enough that Tony Stark was on radar. 

“I still want to go with you,” he told her. He’d been holding her for about an hour. Happy was sleeping since he was going to drive her and stay with her. Tony hadn’t been too happy about that and had asked them what he was going to do all by himself…and had played out worst-case scenarios. Sometimes he was so much like a little kid. “I can find someplace to sit and prop my foot up.”

“It’s going to be twenty-four hours,” she told him. “Maybe less… Happy will call you and keep you updated,” she told him as she nuzzled into his neck. She loved this. Even though there was pain, it was the most comforting position. And really, she was almost getting used to the pain. Or at least that was what she was telling herself.

“It’ll be too long…”

They hadn’t been apart for long in the last five months… That day she’d been taken by Rhosad and she’d ended up at Camp Joyce, that had been the longest day in her life. That had been the most she’d been so far away from Tony. At least when she and Yinsen had been taken away for God only knew how long before, they weren’t far. They knew that Tony wasn’t far… And she hadn’t been alone. 

She’d have Happy there.

It wouldn’t be the same.

“I know,” she whispered and kissed his cheek. 

“What if I wanted to try out the shower at the hospital?” Tony teased.

She grinned and remembered their almost moment in the shower. She still felt a little bad about that. Pepper was sure that it was much harder on guys when they were so worked up and then couldn’t go any further. Her hand traveled from where it had been resting on his arc reactor downward. “We still have to make up for that…”

Tony caught her hand and looked at her with a serious expression. “No,” he whispered.

She was confused. He was denying her now? What had changed? “Why?” she whispered and couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice. She stared at him, searching for the answer in his eyes. 

“You’re hurt.”

“So are you.”

“You’re in pain.”

“I was then too.”

“You’re in more pain.”

Why was it that he was making all the sense? Pepper just lay there for a moment, trying to think of good arguments. She just kept coming back to the fact that their future wasn’t guaranteed. They had no guarantee that they’d be there tomorrow and that scared her. She’d lived that life for so long and she’d just figured out what it meant. It meant that she needed to live in the now. She couldn’t wait for tomorrow…

“Don’t be mad,” he told her as he brushed hair away from her face.

“I just…” she whispered and for some reason she found herself breaking down. Her emotions had been all over the place and she’d been unable to control them. “I just… I’m worried… I’m scared… I don’t want to be so far away from you… But you need to be here. You need to rest, stay off of that foot, and keep it elevated.”

“I’m going to be right here when you get home,” he told her. 

And right now, that was enough.

This was enough.

Lying there with him. 

The familiar arms that she’d grown so accustom to wrapped around her.

For now, it was enough.

“You can use the day to formulate ideas and plans for Stark Industries… What changes you want to make… We can go over them once I’m conscious enough to—“

“I’ll distract you,” he whispered and kissed her head.

She could feel him smiling against her skin. She smiled in return. “You always distract me…”

“Sometimes it doesn’t work…”

“I’ll let you distract me like this any time,” she told him and looked up at him. He placed a kiss on her forehead and she settled back in his arms. Being discharged from the hospital couldn’t come soon enough.

 

. . .

 

Happy had checked in with Tony regularly and had stayed with her the whole time. The actual procedure had been the only time that he hadn’t been able to be there. And she was glad for it… Even though they’d put her under, she’d still had the nightmares. 

This time, it had been running… Running through the desert and Rhosad yelling at her from behind. Gunshots and loud noises rang out and threatened to deafen her. The ground shook and she tried not to look back…for fear of what would be there. She had dreamed of the Army and of removing the scarf, but then she remembered it changed. Someone else was yelling…something that never really happened…and suddenly arms were capturing her and dragging her away from the Army. 

She’d woken up screaming, but Happy had calmed her quickly…. He’d also been kind enough to let the staff know that it wasn’t from pain or anything… The nightmare… The nightmares that would haunt her… She just wanted to banish them… She wanted for one night, to dream of something else… To dream of being happy and home…

“You okay?” he asked.

“I want to go home,” Pepper told him as she rolled her head to look at Happy.

“The doctor is thinking that he might release you sooner than expected. He’s hoping you’ll rest more comfortably in a familiar environment. He wants to get you up and walking though… And they have this brace thing they’re going to want you to wear…” Happy told her. “I already had them call in the additional pain meds to the pharmacy, so that they’ll be ready to pick up on our way home.”

“How’s Tony?”

“Don’t worry about him for a few hours…”

Pepper frowned. She wanted to explain, but she was afraid that he wouldn’t understand. How Rhodey and Obadiah didn’t understand. Only Tony understood. Maybe that’s what made it all so much harder. “Happy—“

“I talked to him twenty minutes ago… He said that Obadiah had dropped by and that he hadn’t left yet,” Happy told her.

“Why?”

“Don’t know…”

“Can you go and check—“

“I’m not leaving you, Pep.”

Pepper sighed. This was the agreement that he and Tony had made. Tony didn’t want Happy leaving her except for the procedure and Happy was quite serious about it. She was fairly sure that he hadn’t needed Tony to make the agreement with him in order to do it though. She doubted that she’d be able to convince him to leave her. “I just worry about Obadiah—“

“He’s not going to do anything to Tony just because we aren’t there…” Happy told her. “Tony’s a big boy…he can take care of himself…”

“No, he can’t,” she countered.

“Really, Pep… He can…”

Pepper didn’t doubt Tony that he could really take care of himself; he’d proven that in Afghanistan. It was that Tony wasn’t used to dealing with Obadiah in the way that she was. There was still something that wasn’t right about things since they’d returned. She didn’t like knowing that Obadiah was there and there was no one else there with Tony…

 

. . .

 

Hours later, after too many sets of instructions, Pepper had been released. Happy had tried to call him on their way home, but he hadn’t picked up. He’d just brushed it off telling her that he was probably sleeping or had left his phone somewhere or had turned off JARVIS’ call alert feature. She didn’t like it, though. Tony would be waiting for Happy’s call, she knew he would. 

When they arrived at the house, there were several cars in the circle driveway. No one had been expected. None of them belonged to Obadiah and Pepper didn’t recognize any of them. This couldn’t be good. The lights in the house seemed to all be on she noticed as Happy helped her out and carried in her bag for her. She wasn’t supposed to be lifting anything. 

“What’s going on?” Happy asked. She knew it was more just to ask it aloud than him actually waiting for her to answer. 

She was tired and she was sore and she just wanted to sleep. She knew she’d been sleeping a lot the past few days, but she needed it. Pepper knew she needed it. And the doctor had told her that she really needed it now. Sleep would help with the healing process and the pain medication would help her to sleep. “I’m a little worried…”

“I’m pretty pissed.”

Pepper frowned and held onto Happy’s arm as he guided her away from the car and carefully towards the front door. Happy had the door opened and they were inside without any incident. He set down the bags right inside of the door. Pepper figured that it was a good idea since they could find out what was going on first…and once she was settled, Happy could retrieve them. “I really don’t like this…”

“Tony!” Happy yelled.

He wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

But that wasn’t what Pepper saw. Pizza had been ordered in. Snacks had been left sloppily all over the table near the couch. And there were beer bottles and wine bottles…and glasses…all over… Her heart felt like it had stopped. Five months, Tony had been sober. In those five months, he’d never been tempted… 

Was that why Obadiah had been there?

To tempt Tony?

To fix the order of things?

Did he prefer Tony in his continual drunken stupor? 

The sound of women laughing drew both of their attentions. Pepper wasn’t sure if she was having trouble standing because she’d just had surgery or if it was fear of what they were going to find. Six months ago, this would have just been a minor hiccup in her day… Now, it felt like a knife being stabbed into her heart.

“Why don’t I take you—“ Happy had started to suggest.

“No,” she told him. “I’ll go with you… You get the girls and whoever else is here…and kick them out… I’ll deal with Tony.”

“Pepper—“

“It’s going to be the easiest and faster way to do it,” she told him. 

“I didn’t think he’d—“

“I know,” she whispered as she looked at him. “I didn’t either…”

Pepper was fairly sure how this happened though. Tony had been so good since they’d made it home and banished Obadiah and the medical staff. Yes, he and Happy had gone back and forth, but it hadn’t been anything major. It hadn’t been a relapse…and he hadn’t hurt himself further…

Happy helped to support her as they walked along. As they got closer to Tony’s room, the laughter and giggling grew louder and she could tell that Happy wanted to punch Tony even more. Pepper honestly wasn’t sure how she exactly felt. She was angry and upset and hurt…but she was also worried and concerned… How could Tony be so irresponsible? How could he not think?

“Pepper…”

“Let’s just do this,” she said with a sigh.

Happy opened the door and Pepper held onto the doorframe for support. They found four barely clothed women who looked like they were models in Tony’s room and they were all curling around Tony in the middle of his bed. It made her feel sick… And it made her sad…so sad… She sucked in breath and told her that this was the job. She’d known that this could have happened… She told herself in Afghanistan that she’d go back to being his assistant if he chose this life again. She had to just breathe and deal with it. She could cry later…

“Happy!” Tony yelled. “Pep…” and then his voice dropped and he suddenly looked sad. Pepper wondered if her emotions were showing. She’d tried to hide them. It wasn’t professional.

“Time to get out ladies,” Happy said and started to pick up various bits of clothing. They all whined, but Tony didn’t argue. “You have about two minutes to get dressed and to get out of this house before I call the police,” he announced suddenly and quite pissed when none of them moved. That got them moving. 

Pepper moved herself just slightly into Tony’s room and watched as the women filed out and Happy followed the last one with a pile in his arms of clothing and shoes. At least they were gone. She crossed her arms over her chest and reminded herself that she needed to be professional. She had to be. She couldn’t be emotional. Not now… Not today. He was drunk anyways… Getting upset wasn’t going to help any of it. 

“Say something,” he finally spoke up.

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked the room and checked for clothing or shoes that Happy might have missed. She was also checking for alcohol in any form. Pepper was going to ensure that he didn’t have anything else to drown…whatever he was drowning himself in… She found a red stiletto and a black lace thong. She cringed every time she had to bend or crouch. Pepper put them on the end of his bed and gathered up the bottles and glasses she found as well and set them on the nightstand. She’d have Happy collect them. 

“Pepper,” Tony said. She could feel his eyes on her. Staring. She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t. She was afraid that she’d lose it. 

Instead, she went on like it was business like usual. She picked up trash and kept the tears back when she found a rather long roll of condoms on the bed. Pepper put them in his nightstand and found her arm being grabbed. She tried to pull back, but Tony was getting to his feet and he wasn’t letting go.

“Let me go!” she told him sternly and angrily.

He didn’t.

She looked up at him and she wasn’t sure what he was thinking or feeling. He was definitely drunk. She could smell it on him. She’d smelled it when she’d entered the room. “If I have to yell for Happy…I’m not going to stop him from punching you in the face,” she warned. 

He let her go and looked sad suddenly, but then she noticed him swaying. He was starting to lose his balance and was about the collapse when she caught him. It was instinct and habit. But she knew it was wrong…she could feel that it was wrong. She heaved him up and back up onto his bed.

“Pepper!” Happy yelled from behind. He was at her side and was shoving Tony back into bed as well in a moment’s time. “You shouldn’t—“

“I know,” she told him with a sigh. 

Suddenly the doorbell was ringing and Pepper looked over at Happy. “They probably realized they’re missing some items,” she said as she pointed to the two extra items that she’d found. “Also,” she said and pointed to the bottles and glasses. She watched as Happy picked up a box that she was fairly sure belonged in Tony’s closet and he just gathered up everything in there. At least it was quick and effective.

“Are you going to be okay?” Happy asked as he picked up the box. He set the stiletto and thong on top. 

“I’ll be fine,” Pepper told Happy as she sat on the edge of the bed. She was going to be hurting… There was no doubt about that. She waited until Happy left before turning her attention back to Tony. He was clad in boxers and his black tank top. She supposed that at least they didn’t have to worry about undressing him. “Sleep…” she instructed. “No more drinking…unless it’s water or coffee… And if you have to throw up, make sure you make it to the toilet,” she told him sternly. He just stared at her. Pepper just wanted to cry. Instead, she stood and turned to him. “Will that be all, Mr. Stark?”

“Pepper, I—“

“Will that be all, Mr. Stark?” she asked again.

When his mouth just opened like he was going to say something and then he didn’t, she took that as cue that she could leave. He was far too drunk right now. She’d have Happy check on him. She left and turned off the lights once she was out of the room. 

“JARVIS, monitor Mr. Stark’s vital signs.”

“Specifications?”

“The normal,” she spoke up and felt even more sick. It had been over five months since she’d asked JARVIS to monitor him for such…and she had considered it ‘the normal’. Tears sprang from her eyes and she clung to the wall for a moment. She had to remind herself that there were stairs and she really didn’t need to fall down them. She cried there in silence for a moment before slowly easing herself down the stairs. 

Once she reached the bottom, she found Happy walking towards her from her room. The look on his face. She knew that her tears were the last thing that he wanted to see. “He’s in bed…he should pass out soon,” she managed to get out clearly. “I have JARVIS monitoring…but if you could check on him…”

Happy just nodded and then took her arm to help support her.

“My bag—“

“Already taken care of,” he told her. “And the pills are on the nightstand. I already brought you two bottles of water…”

“Thank you,” she told him but couldn’t bring herself to look up at him. She just focused on the floor as they walked. Happy was so sweet and thoughtful and wasn’t throwing what they’d found in her face. She appreciated it. 

Once in her room, he guided her to the bed and she sat on the edge. She finally looked up at him and she could see the mix of worry and anger in his face. “Thank you,” she said again.

“Do you need anything else? Is there anything I can do?”

“Not punch Tony…at least not yet,” she requested.

Happy sighed. She could tell that he was really trying to keep himself contained. She knew how he could get. He could explode if he got too bottled up with emotion. “Fine…”

“Thank you.”

“What if he comes in here…?”

“I’ll punch him,” she whispered and then looked down.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“No,” she said and looked back up at him. “That’s sweet…but I just want to be alone… And you’ll be right down the hall, right?”

Happy nodded. “And I’ll check to make sure Tony’s breathing…”

“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll see you in the morning then?” 

“You shout if you need anything. Anything.”

“I know,” she told him. She was sure that Happy would rather stay there with her. To sit in the chair that Tony had claimed as his own. To just watch over her all night. She didn’t want that. Pepper wanted to be able to cry… She wanted to be able to wake up in the middle of the night screaming… Happy wasn’t going to make any of that better… “Good night, Happy.”

“Night, Pep,” he whispered before leaving.

And for the first time in a really long time, she felt completely alone. She striped down and crawled into bed. She whimpered as the pain echoed throughout her body. Pepper looked at the clock and sighed. No more pain medication for four more hours… If she could sleep, she felt like it might go by faster… 

Happy was down the hall and Tony was down the hall and up stairs… She still felt completely alone. The realm of no one understanding… Tony didn’t even seem to fall into it anymore. He’d fallen off the wagon, so to speak…and they were back to how things were. It was heartbreaking… She’d truly thought that he wouldn’t go back to that lifestyle… 

And she’d believed that he had wanted her…

She pulled the comforter up over her, turned off the bedside light, and cried herself to sleep. Tomorrow would bring more challenges and she just wasn’t ready for them… She realized that she missed Afghanistan… She missed the cave… She even missed Yinsen’s soup… But most of all, she missed that Tony… She missed seeing the good in him… She missed whom she knew his parents would have been proud of… But most of all, Pepper missed his lips against her forehead, his arms around her, and his whispers… 

 

. . .

 

TBC...


	5. Pissing Match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really MEANT for this to go up last night...but I completely passed out at page six... Apparently I didn't know my own need for sleep! 0_0 Apparently spending several hours on a carrier where you're going over knee-knockers and waist-knockers and up and down ladders and dealing with a huge group of kids will do that to you... And I guess the no sleep, up at 0600, and then having to drive 2ish hours to get home didn't help me any!

“Pep—“

“Go away.”

“Pep—“

“Go away.”

“Please…”

It wasn’t often that he used that word…

Pepper sighed, but didn’t turn towards him. She’d left her room dark and hadn’t moved in hopes that both Tony and Happy would leave her alone. She’d heard someone stirring out in the other parts of the house for a while, but hadn’t been sure who was up. She’d thought Tony, but the lack of disappearing into the workshop had led her to believe that perhaps Happy was up. But here was Tony, apparently thinking she was awake even though she didn’t think she’d given any sign. She was fairly sure that he was standing in the doorway. Her back was to him so she couldn’t be sure.

“I’m sorry, Pepper,” he whispered. She could hear the upset and sadness in his voice and it killed her.

She squeezed her eyes shut and let the tears fall silently. During her night fueled by pain killers and sleep she’d had nightmares, but instead of them being related to Afghanistan they were of a drunken playboy Tony… And it broke her heart. She felt like they’d grown so close in that cave and last night…it felt like it had been all taken away last night.

He’d reverted. 

“Pep,” Tony pleaded. “Say something please.”

Pepper didn’t know what to say. Did she pour out her heart to him? Would it even matter? Was it worth it? And all she could think was, yes…the Tony she’d spent the last five months in close quarters with was definitely worth it. The Tony that she’d had a very hot shower moment with was very worth it. But the scene she’d walked in on last night…that made her want to turn to her professional side. But what would she say either way? Her mind raced and she found herself sniffling. 

She didn’t even realize that he’d entered the room until he was crouching down in front of her. He shaded her eyes with his hand, turned on her bedside light, waited a moment, and then moved his hand. He looked like crap. She wasn’t surprised. He hadn’t had anything to drink in five months and then he’d drank…a lot…from the looks of all the empty bottles they’d found…that would take a toll on anyone’s body. 

“I really am sorry,” he told her. “Last night—“

“I really don’t want to even think about it anymore,” she told him honestly. Pepper wanted to get up, so that she didn’t feel like she was so helpless, but there was no way she was moving at the moment. She just didn’t feel up to it. “I’ll have Happy drive me home later and—“

“Please, don’t go,” he begged. 

“Tony, I—“

“I wouldn’t blame you for leaving,” he said quickly. “But please…at least let me explain…”

And she could see the misery in his eyes. He was truly sorry, but it didn’t scrub her mind clean of the memories of the night before. That was going to take a lot more than words… And it was going to take a lot more time… 

“I told you not to be in here!”

She froze and she noticed so did Tony. His eyes seemed to widen a bit. Happy’s voice was almost booming with irritation. Happy was going to kick Tony out before he had a moment to explain himself…and though Pepper was upset with him, she wanted to hear him out. She felt like it was the least she could do… After all, when had she known Tony Stark to apologize…use the word ‘please’…or even beg or plead? She couldn’t remember a time… Maybe she’d heard ‘please’, but not like this… It had never been like this… Tony knew he’d screwed up. 

“Happy…you can punch me in the face as much as you like, just let me explain,” Tony said and held his hands up. “Please! Just please, we’ve all known each other for how long?”

“Which is why we shouldn’t have been surprised to what we came home to last night,” Happy countered.

Pepper could hear him coming further into the room and she slowly started to move to make her way to at least a sitting position. She knew that she needed to get up and stretch and move around, but today she’d planned on doing a lot of sleeping and just relaxing…and hiding. 

“Easy, Pep,” Tony whispered and was there trying to help her.

Pepper appreciated it since she’d almost tumbled into the nightstand. She grabbed a hold of his arms and breathed as she straightened a bit more. When she raised her head to see Happy there beside Tony, he was filled with rage. She could see it radiating from him. You couldn’t miss it even if you didn’t know him. “Hap—“

But before she could finish his name, Happy was already punching Tony. She screamed and Tony fell backwards. That didn’t stop Happy. He just got on top of him and continued to take his time with another punch. Tony didn’t make a sound, but all she could think of was how they’d found him… And she had a feeling that anytime someone hurt Tony or he was hurt, that was the memory that it was going to conjure. 

“Stop!” she screamed and reached out for Happy. He was out of reach. Another punch and she could see that he’d split Tony’s lip. Tears were streaming down her face and she found herself pushing off of the bed in order to grab Happy. “STOP!” she screamed even more urgently. Pepper grabbed at the fist that was doing the punching and Happy seemed to try to shake her off.

“Pep! Stay out of this!” Happy yelled.

Pepper held tight though and he was trying to really shake her off, moving more than just his fist. She knew he was trying to get free of her hold so that he could smack Tony again and she wasn’t going to watch that. She couldn’t… This time, Happy tried shaking lose her grip harder and she finally came free, teetered, and then her face was connected with Happy’s fist as he brought it back up. She let out a cry and she found herself blinking rapidly trying to comprehend what had just happened.

“Pepper!” Tony shouted.

All she knew after being hit was that they’d stopped fighting. Tony was holding her, his face bloody and bruised, and Happy was beside her with tears running down his face and he was mumbling on and on with what she could only think were apologies. Pepper reached out and took one of Happy’s hands with one of hers and then reached up with her other hand and touched Tony’s face. 

They couldn’t do this.

They were being too destructive…

It was almost worse than the night before…

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispered. And it was still just as sincere as the first time. “Obadiah came by yesterday… And I didn’t even think about it…and I don’t know how many drinks I had… There’s a big black spot in my memory… I remember drinking with Obadiah… He was asking me about Afghanistan… And then the next thing I can remember is you two in my room picking up… I… I should have been smart,” Tony said. 

And she was glad that Happy was quiet. 

They needed the truth of what had happened…

And it seemed like Tony needed this.

“I should have thought about how it would affect me,” Tony went on. 

He hadn’t had alcohol in five months. The first few days had been hard on him and now looking back, she wondered if it wasn’t just recovering from the surgery that Yinsen had performed, but also because he was going through withdrawal… It hadn’t even dawned on her. She’d been so consumed about whether he’d live or not… 

“I don’t know what happened…or when Obadiah left…or how the girls got here…or who invited them,” Tony told them. “If I hadn’t been drinking… I guess I blacked out…” He looked frustrated. She could tell that he was being truthful. She could see it in him. He was trying to piece things together. “JARVIS…he might know…”

“At your service, Sir,” JARVIS chimed in.

“JARVIS, do you have record of what time Mr. Stane was present at the house?” Pepper asked.

“Of course, Ms. Potts. Would you like me to relay the times?” JARVIS questioned.

“Do you have the arrival times of the other…visitors last night?”

“I do as well.”

She didn’t like that Tony had blacked out. It hadn’t been the first time. He drank too much. It happened. Pepper really didn’t like it though. It worried her, but she wondered if this incident would keep him from relapsing… And for a moment, she clung to that hope… Maybe Tony had needed that low moment… He’d never been tempted in Afghanistan… He hadn’t been exposed to alcohol or women…well except for her. 

Obadiah being at the house while she and Happy were both gone bothered her, though. And what bothered her more was that Tony had relapsed and Obadiah was probably the one who had brought it up and shoved the drink into Tony’s hand. And it made her wonder…

“JARVIS, is there a time from last night where Mr. Stane is present during the time the visitors were as well?” Pepper asked.

“Yes. There is an overlap of forty-eight minutes.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Ms. Potts.”

“What are you thinking?” Happy asked her. “You can’t just make excuses for him.”

She watched as Tony screwed his eyes shut like Happy had inflicted physical pain (again). “I’m not,” she said quietly and ran her hand along Tony’s cheek. “But I don’t like the facts… And I don’t think that Obadiah was doing anyone any good by exposing Tony to alcohol after he’d been forced to sober up.”

“It’s not like it’s exactly hidden,” Happy pointed out.

“He’s right,” Tony said. “And let’s be honest… It’s me… Drinking was bound to happen again…”

Pepper frowned deeply. “Are you saying that you don’t think that last night was a mistake?” she asked and then removed her hand from his cheek.

His eyes opened and were staring right at her. “No, I’m saying that I know it was a mistake…but I was bound to screw up… I’m good at it.”

“If you wanted to,” Pepper told him. “You could. You’ve already proven that to me.”

“She’s right,” Happy said and the reluctance in his voice was clear. “You can do it if you really want to… You got out of that cave… You both got home…”

“That wasn’t just me,” Tony said as he turned to Happy.

“It’s never been just you,” Happy said.

“We’ve been here all along,” Pepper added.

 

. . .

 

“I told you that you needed to rest at home.”

“I know,” Pepper responded. “But you know how Tony is… He sent the nurse home and no one else, but Happy and I can really handle him.”

“You just had surgery!”

“It’s good for me to be moving around...and it’s not like I’m here all alone,” Pepper explained. “Happy’s here… He’s good at keeping Tony in line… They’ve been reconnecting…”

“That’s good… That’s healthy… His doctor had told me that it’s good for him to get back into the swing of things… Pick up right where he left off… Something about helping with coping…and normalizing…” 

“I don’t think he needs to go back to how everything was.”

“Maybe not,” Obadiah admitted as he swirled the alcohol in the glass tumbler around. Obadiah had arrived to ‘check on things’ after ‘worrying about Tony’. He really hadn’t seemed to be worried at all to her. In fact, he seemed far too cheerful. “But Tony will be Tony…and we really can’t do anything about that… Plus, you know how geniuses are… They want what they want and they have to have it no matter what.”

“He went through a lot. I think that he needs more than doing what he did before…” Pepper told him.

“I know you must think you know what’s best for him, Pepper,” Obadiah said. He was grinning and she didn’t know what it was about how he was grinning about her, but she didn’t like it. She didn’t like any of this… If she wasn’t worried about what Obadiah could do with her position with Stark Industries, she wouldn’t worry about beating around the bush with him. “But I’ve known Tony longer…”

And though he was right about that… He wasn’t right about knowing him better. She knew him, she knew the true Tony. And even though she was still upset with him, that wasn’t going to change. She wasn’t going to just let Obadiah sabotage him. “But he has to think about his image for the company…”

“He’s never had to be sober for that.”

And that was true.

It was sad, but it was still true.

“But wouldn’t that be a better image?” 

“He’s a genius who designs the best weapons in the world,” Obadiah told her. “No one cares if he’s sober or an alcoholic… No one cares whether he has one girl or ten new girls in his bed every night… They only care about the next new weapon or the next donation… They want to know how Tony Stark can help them… They don’t actually care about Tony Stark…”

“I care about him,” she found herself blurting out. She froze suddenly and took in Obadiah’s face. He looked surprised by her admission. “I mean, I’ve worked with him for so long… I hate to see him so self-destructive…”

“I think you need a vacation. When was the last time you had one?”

“Before I started working for Tony or Stark Industries,” she admitted. 

“Come on,” Obadiah said. “You need a vacation… You should be recovering in a spa or somewhere with a beautiful view…” He pulled out his wallet and pulled out a credit card. He held it out to her. “Stark Industries’ card. You book something and take out cash for traveling money… I insist. I’ll make sure that Tony has all the care he needs… And maybe when we return, we should really talk about a promotion… You’ve been Tony’s assistant too long…”

“Isn’t that Tony’s call?” she asked.

“Come on, Pepper,” Obadiah said and put the card in her hand.

“I can’t,” she said and set it on the table. It felt like a bribe. A really big bribe…and she was afraid of what would happen if she were to leave on vacation… Would she come back and Tony be a completely different person? She didn’t need a vacation that badly…

“You know, I think I’ve been very accommodating given the situation and what I saw in Afghanistan,” Obadiah said. His tone sounded dangerous and almost threatening. 

“Excuse me?” 

“I’m sure that there were cold nights and the two of you huddled together for warmth and one thing led to another, but you’re his assistant… I can’t have the liability of you—“

“You think I’m going to file for sexual harassment and sue the company?!” Pepper exclaimed and got to her feet a little too quickly. She cringed, but pushed the pain aside. “I’m not sleeping with Tony.”

“I saw you two in Afghanistan,” Obadiah pointed out.

“And I kissed him… I was happy to see him… I was overjoyed to know that he’d survived too. Do you want a medical reason for it? Neurological? The fact that I had been kept in a cave for five months… That we were beaten and threatened and that we thought we were going to die every day… I’m sure that a psychologist would tell you that our being a little close after that was only natural… It was survival… I went through a lot… A lot more than is in my job description…” She was sure that he could ask a shrink and he’d agree with her. Was that the absolute truth though? No. There was something stronger between them. She cared about him far more than she should. Obadiah didn’t need to know how she felt. He had no right and it wasn’t his place. “If you have any problems with my professionalism or job performance, Mr. Stane, I suggest you talk to Mr. Stark about it,” she said. She wasn’t going to play games with him. And it felt good. It felt good to think that she wasn’t being held under his thumb or examined.

Obadiah got up from the couch, a grin still on his face, he approached her. Pepper didn’t move. “I have to say… I think you’re a bit feistier than you were before… I like that. I admire that. You’re loyal, Pepper, but that doesn’t mean that you should have to work for Tony for the rest of your life… You’re too good for that.” He came too close for her liking. “Come work for me… I’ll find you a position in Stark Industries that would properly use all your talents… Somewhere high up… Not an assistant position.”

She hadn’t expected a job offer. Even if it was a vague one. “That’s very kind of you, Mr. Stane,” she said, trying to be at least polite. “But I’m sure you’ll understand when I tell you that I have to think about it.”

“Of course!” he said and was suddenly quite cheerful. He pulled her into a hug and Pepper only allowed it to last for a few seconds. She wondered if he felt like it was okay since she’d hugged him in Afghanistan. She’d just been so overjoyed to see someone that she knew…she hadn’t thought about it before she’d done it.

“My back,” she used as an excuse to break the hug so quickly.

“Of course,” Obadiah told her. “Didn’t think about that… You let me know if Tony gets to be too out of hand, if you want me to call in a squadron of nurses, or you decide to give me an answer about that job offer…”

“Of course,” Pepper said. 

He backed away. He finished his drink and then just smiled at her for a minute. “I’ll show myself out then… You make sure you rest up…”

She just gave him a nod and tried to keep a smile in place.

 

. . .

 

“Where is he?” Pepper asked. 

“Workshop,” Happy responded. She’d had him on Tony watch, but when Tony disappeared down into the workshop, Happy didn’t follow. It was just a thing in their relationship that they’d established before she’d even worked for Tony. She wasn’t too thrilled about it since she’d asked Happy to keep an eye on him while Obadiah was at the house.

“He has alcohol down there,” Pepper reminded.

Happy shrugged. “I told him not to drink… You know I don’t go down there…”

Pepper sighed and descended into the depths of the house. She couldn’t believe that Happy had just let him go off. She supposed that was better than them getting into another punching match. She really didn’t want to see that. Happy had always been the more physical one; he solved things with his fists…or the threat of them. Pepper solved things with her head and her words. Maybe that was why they worked so well together for Tony. 

At the bottom of the stairs, she punched in her access code. She waited, but then JARVIS informed her that her access had been denied. She immediately started to panic. She couldn’t see Tony. Why would her permissions be revoked? She went down there all of the time? She started to scream his name, but she could hear the music blasting on the other side. He most likely couldn’t hear her. 

“JARVIS, can you tell Mr. Stark I’m here?” Pepper requested.

“Of course, Ms. Potts.” A few minutes later, he spoke up again. “Mr. Stark isn’t responding.”

Her heart raced as she tried to think of how she was going to get into there. It was glass, but it was thick… Not unbreakable, but she hated to think about having new glass installed. She raised the palm of her hand and beat on the glass and shouted his name. Panic was really setting in. 

“JARVIS, is there some way I can emergency override the door controls?” she asked. 

Before JARVIS could respond, Tony came into view and she could see him talking to JARVIS and she heard the music mute. He was there opening the door for her and Pepper half fell into his arms and half slumped. She wasn’t supposed to be up for so long and she most certainly wasn’t supposed to be under the stress she was currently under. “You’re okay,” she breathed.

“Hey,” he whispered as he lowered them both to the ground. He reached up and she suddenly realized that she was wiping away tears…tears that she hadn’t realized she’d been shedding. “It’s okay… I didn’t mean… I didn’t mean to lock you out. I had just told JARVIS that I wanted everyone locked out… I hadn’t thought you’d be down here.”

“Don’t do that to me!” she shouted at him. 

He was careful as he cradled her and then pulled her tightly to his chest in a hug. He held her and she relaxed under his hold. Damn him. She couldn’t be bad at him… She wanted to be, at least for a few days… But she couldn’t… And Happy wouldn’t understand. He’d be upset with her for accepting Tony back like this… 

But Tony was the only one who understood.

“Obadiah offered me a job,” she whispered.

He pulled back to look at her face. “What did you say?”

“I told him I had to think about it.”

“You should take it.”

“Don’t say that,” she whispered and it hurt her to hear him say that. 

“I’m a horrible boss.”

“You are,” she told him. “But I don’t think I can entirely blame you for—“

“You can,” he countered. “I made my choices a long time ago… I drank…and I didn’t stop… I thought that sleeping with every woman who was halfway decent looking was what I was supposed to do… I didn’t even think when Obadiah was here… I just took a sip and realized how much I missed the taste…and then the feeling…”

“You know it actually causes brain damage…”

“Good thing I’m a genius…”

“You need to stop drinking, Tony,” she told him seriously. 

“I know. No more. I relapsed…and I screwed up… I screwed up everything,” he told her and now the tears were falling from his eyes. He looked away from her like he was embarrassed to be there crying in front of her. She’d seen him in every emotional state… During his highs and his lows… She’d been through hell with him… He didn’t need to hide from her. 

Pepper reached up and turned his face back to look at her. “I don’t think you’ve screwed up everything,” she whispered gently. He didn’t need her to be tough or brutally honest. Not in this moment. He needed her to be caring and to pick up the pieces and to make him see hope again. He’d made her see hope again back in Afghanistan, she couldn’t give up on him when he still needed her. 

He needed her more than ever.

“You told me that you’ve thought about the future of Stark Industries… Have you come up with something to show the board? To show Obadiah?” she asked.

“I don’t think I need to go through Obadiah,” he said.

“You’re right. You don’t.”

“I’m not eighteen anymore…and I need to start acting like that,” he told her firmly. “I’ve already screwed up and lost you…”

“Tony—“

“I did, didn’t I?” he asked. “I didn’t sleep with any of those women… At least I don’t think I did… But I screwed it up… I got drunk… I had women in my bed who I didn’t even know…”

She frowned at him. She searched his face and tried to think of the best answer. She couldn’t be in a toxic relationship, but she couldn’t hurt him… All she wanted back was the Tony she’d known for the last five months… “I don’t know,” she finally blurted out honestly. Her hand rested on his cheek as she stared up at him. 

He nodded and he didn’t seem hurt. He almost seemed content with her answer. Slowly, he stood, keeping her safely in his arms. “I should get you to bed.”

“What are you working on down here?” she asked. She wasn’t going to argue about walking… Her back was killing her. She needed to wear the brace that she hated… Plus, she really did love the feel of him holding her. She’d missed it.

“I don’t know yet… I just… Let me show you later,” he said. 

Pepper smiled and leaned into him. “Don’t push me out,” she whispered. 

“Never.”

“I’m not going to work for Obadiah, you know,” she whispered to him as he carried her.

“I know.”

“He wants to bring you down, Tony… He wants to break who you became in Afghanistan… Don’t you dare let him!” 

“I’ll tell you a secret, Pepper, though you probably already know it,” he said, but found that he was interrupted the moment he made it to the top of the stairs with Pepper.

“What are you doing? What happened?” Happy asked as he sprang to his feet.

“I’m fine,” Pepper told him. She just hoped that this wasn’t going to lead to more punching. “I just need to lay down…”

“So why is he carrying you?” Happy asked. He was obviously getting worked up.

“She was teetering… I caught her before she fell… I thought it would be safer if I just carried her to bed,” Tony said and apparently he thought that was a good enough explanation because he walked past Happy. 

She wasn’t used to them fighting. She didn’t know if they were really fighting over her or if they were just having some kind of pissing match… Either way, she thought they both needed to get over it. They’d been friends before she’d come along. They needed to remember that. “Tony—“

“We’re almost there,” he told her. “Don’t argue about me carrying you now…”

So, she didn’t. He set her on the bed and disappeared for a little while. He returned with fresh bottles of water and an apple, which he set on her bedside table. “What are you doing?” she asked curiously.

“Bringing you…” He paused and then suddenly looked distracted. “I should put one of those little fridges in here,” he said as he motioned to the space next to one of the nightstands. 

She stared at him and saw that Tony that she had missed for a day… Tears sprung from her eyes and she looked away. “I miss Afghanistan,” she found herself saying. She was sure that anyone else who heard her comment would think that she was crazy… Maybe she was… But she knew that he’d understand.

“No, you don’t,” he argued quietly.

“I miss the nights…”

He sighed and he was sitting next to her on the bed. “I screwed up, I know… But I know I don’t want to be that man… I don’t want to be the playboy…” He pulled her to him and kissed her head. “I’m going to fight everyday to make you proud of me again, Pep… I’m not going anywhere…”

It was as if he knew exactly what she needed to hear. “Don’t make me promises that you can’t keep…”

“I’m not breaking this one…”

“You better not.”

“You need to sleep,” he whispered and then kissed her forehead again.

She found herself wiping tears away again. She hated being so emotional, but he didn’t seem to hold it against her. “Stay with me…until I fall asleep?” she asked. All she wanted was to think about him holding her like he had in Afghanistan in hopes that the nightmares would stay away for just a time… He adjusted the pillows on the bed and scooted her towards the middle. He removed her shoes and dropped them off to the side before curling up with her. They just lay there for a long time in silence and it was enough to lull her to sleep… She was at just the edge of sleep, ready to fall into the dark void when she heard him whisper.

“You know what my big secret is, Pep? I need you more than I need this arc reactor…”

 

. . .

 

TBC...


	6. All That Really Matters

A day passed and no one was punched. And then a week. And then two. Tony had promised her that he’d apologized and settled things with Happy. She didn’t know what to think. All she knew was that she appreciated waking to a house where there was silence and no blood on the floors. She still had to wear the brace for her back. She hated it. At least she didn’t have to leave the house and Tony and Happy hadn’t made comments about it, except the ‘you need to wear it’ kind. How much things changed…

Pepper poured herself a cup of coffee and then poured Tony a cup as well. Today, Happy was taking the day off. Which was fine, they’d rarely left the house since her surgery. She didn’t want to be seen out in public in the brace. She really, really hated it. Carefully, she balanced both cups and headed downstairs to the workshop where she was sure Tony would be. 

“You know, I’m still not so sure about this,” Pepper said as she approached his workbench and set down his cup of coffee. He was clad in his newest project ‘Mark II’. It was a better version of the armor that he’d made in Afghanistan that he’d used to escape the cave. He was certain that it could be used in other ways… But he didn’t want it for the military and he didn’t want it for Stark Industries. They were the only two who know about it…or the ‘Mark I’ for that matter. After all, the ‘Mark I’ was in the desert in Afghanistan in a million pieces. 

“Because it’s not going to help with my goal of changing the face of Stark Industries?” Tony asked.

“There’s that.”

“I’m working on something…”

“Can I get a vague idea?”

“Better power,” he told her.

“That’s always a popular one, as long as it’s green,” she told him.

“Yeah, well I’m still not sure about this arc reactor,” Tony said as he touched the place in the armor that glowed from the arc reactor. 

“What’s wrong with it?” she asked suddenly. Worry flowed through her and she knew that a flaw in the arc reactor could mean serious things for Tony. Mainly, death. 

“I need to upgrade it is all,” Tony told her. “There’s puss and other…unpleasant things…” He stared at her; he had no helmet on, which made it easier to gage him. “I have a schematic already drawn up…just working the last bugs out…”

Pepper stared at him for a long time. “But you’ll tell me if there’s a problem, right?”

“Right.”

“Right away?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to go upstairs and work on—“

“You’re not supposed to be working yet,” Tony pointed out.

“I brought you coffee,” she countered.

“That’s because you’re my girl Friday,” he told her.

Pepper shook her head. “That’s besides the point, Tony…”

“Stay for a little bit? Please?” he asked. He pointed to one of his robots. “This one keeps trying to extinguish me when I’m not on fire…” He pointed to another one that was holding a camera. “That one just isn’t holding steady…”

“I think there’s a programmer error.”

Tony looked at her, but then smiled a moment later. “Please, Pep…”

Looking around, she pulled over a chair and sat down. “Fine, but not for long… I wanted to make sure I got our dinner order in on time and have things finished, so that we’re not having dinner at eight because that’s how long it’ll take us to get it delivered here if we dally.”

“I’ve already taken care of dinner,” Tony told her. 

Pepper looked up from her coffee. “Excuse me?”

“I took care of it already?”

“Okay…”

“Was I not supposed to?”

“I didn’t think you knew how to do that,” she teased.

Tony grinned. “It’s definitely harder when you don’t normally manage things like your own credit card.”

“You don’t like being handed things.”

“True,” Tony pointed out. “I did find my wallet though…”

“It was in the valet on your nightstand with your cell phone hooked to the charger and your car keys.”

“Well…one of the sets of keys…”

“The vehicle that I prefer you to drive…”

“You have a preference?” he asked and she’d obviously piqued his interest. He stopped his hovering around in the suit and walked towards her. “Tell me about why you prefer I drive that car…”

“It has the best safety rating along with gas mileage…” Pepper told him with a shrug. “Plus, it’s more low-key… You blend, which makes it safer for you from the paparazzi too.”

“Not as good of an answer as I was hoping for…” Tony admitted. 

“Because it’s practical?” she asked, a bit amused. 

“No,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you…”

“I am curious… You actually knew your address? Or did you look at your driver’s license?” she teased.

“The address was on a magazine by the phone,” he played along and then grinned at her. “No, seriously… I have the address and your phone number memorized…”

“Mine?”

“You do a better job of getting me out of situations than Happy has…but don’t tell him I said that. I’ll deny it,” he told her seriously.

Pepper grinned. “I’ll remember that…” She got up from the chair. “Will that be all, Mr. Stark?” 

“No,” Tony said and pulled her to him, he was careful with her since he was in the armor. Their lips met and Pepper smiled against his lips. Things hadn’t been the same since Tony had relapsed, but slowly they had worked up to better… Tony hadn’t had another drink since that night… He’d insisted that they didn’t get rid of the alcohol or lock it up that was on the premises. Pepper didn’t think it was a smart idea, but she’d honored his wishes anyways. And he hadn’t pushed things between them… He released her and smiled down at her. “That’ll be all, Ms. Potts…”

“Are you sure?” she teased.

“You’re right…” he told her. “I’m missing something…” He leaned in and stole another kiss.

She beamed at him. “You know, what happens if you ever need to get out of that suit any faster?” Tony opened his mouth to say something and then shut his mouth again. “That’s what I thought… Food for thought…” she told him before turning and heading out of the workshop. 

 

. . .

 

“Have you seen the news?”

“I haven’t today,” Pepper responded. She’d just sat in her work area, but it had been a long and trying day so far. She swore she’d slept weird and her back felt all weird. She had been about ready to call her doctor and see what she needed because the pain was getting to be a lot. It was getting to be about time to see the doctor anyways. 

Tony turned it on and sat down next to her. “You know where that is?” he asked as he motioned to the area of Afghanistan that they were showing. “Gulmira… That’s where Yinsen was from… That’s his home… And it’s getting blown up… And for all I know, they’re using Stark weapons…”

“What do you want to do?” she asked him. 

Yinsen.

How heartbreaking that memory had been. Tony had seen him shot dead…and had found out that the family that Yinsen used to talk about had died… They were people that they couldn’t help, but she understood what Tony wanted to do… She wanted to help women in Afghanistan and he wanted to help Gulmira for Yinsen. She wanted that too. But what could they do? They could set up foundations…charities… But what else? What would get the weapons out of the hands of terrorists?

“I’m going to take the Mark III out… See if they’re using our weapons,” Tony told her.

Pepper looked over at him. “Afghanistan is really far… Will—“

“It’ll make it.” He tapped the arc reactor in his chest. 

“Don’t you have to clear a flight plan or something?” she asked. “And what are you going to do if you find that they have your weapons?”

“I guess we’ll check it out,” Tony told her. She’d known he’d taken the Mark II out, but only locally and close to home… And she’d heard about him checking the altitude and the suit freezing up at the higher altitude. She hoped that this meant that he had fixed it. “And if I find Stark Industries weapons, I’m going to destroy them…”

“Tony—“

“I promise I’ll be safe…”

“Maybe we should call Rhodey.”

“What’s Rhodey going to be do about it, Pep?”

Pepper frowned at him. “Is it going to hurt to at least put the call out?”

“It’s going to take longer…”

Pepper reached out and wrapped her arm around his shoulders and then rested her head there. She just wanted him to be safe. She just hoped that he understood that. It wasn’t that she didn’t think that he would be safe in the suit; it was that this was getting into scary territory… What if something went wrong? What if he was stranded? Rhodey needed to know what was going on… She knew that they could trust him. “I don’t want to lose you…”

“Pep—“

“Please, for me…”

“He’s going to be pissed.”

“He’s your friend.”

“I think he just tolerates me,” Tony told her honestly.

“We all do,” Pepper told him. “He hasn’t been around you since we’ve been home. He flew home with us and was here for a little bit that first day, but that was it… 

He turned and pressed his forehead against hers. “I need to do this for Yinsen… To keep people in Gulmira safe that are good people…” 

“Please,” she whispered. “Just take five minutes to call Rhodey…”

“Okay.”

“You really don’t look so great,” Tony commented a moment later.

“I hurt…and the brace digs into me…but it’s supposed to help,” she told him. “And I think I slept wrong and made everything hurt more…”

“If I call Rhodey, will you humor me with something?”

Pepper stared at him for a moment, but figured that she didn’t have anything to lose. She nodded and just hoped that it wasn’t something crazy.

 

. . .

 

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she heard Rhodey going on. Rhodey was the other person that Tony allowed into the workshop. Pepper was entering her code at the bottom of the stairs before she was allowed access to the workshop. They came into view and she just smiled. Knowing that Rhodey and Tony were talking before Tony just left for Gulmira took some weight off of her.

“What?” Tony asked.

“You were really serious about this thing?” 

“I mean, it didn’t look this good. I made it in a cave…out of spare parts…” Tony turned and saw her. She figured that he probably heard the familiar click of her heels. “You can ask Pepper…she saw it… Well, it wasn’t together, but she saw the sketch…and the pieces…”

“It was real,” Pepper chimed in. “I did try to explain it to you,” she told Rhodey.

“I just thought—“ Rhodey started to say.

“You thought I had lost it,” Pepper said. She knew that. No one else had been there. No one else understood. That’s why she and Tony had been doing so much better together. Pepper took a seat and waited. Tony had requested that she come down, but she was fairly sure that Rhodey hadn’t been there. It had taken her a while, but now it seemed like she needed to wait.

“In my defense, it still sounds crazy even looking at this thing,” Rhodey told her. “But this, this may be—“

“It’s not for the military,” Tony said quickly.

He and Rhodey exchanged looks. Pepper just waited for the arguing to start. She knew it was going to happen. Rhodey was all about the Air Force and the US military in general. They had contracts with them for weapons. Technically, the suit was a weapon… And in theory, could keep their soldiers safer… 

“So, why’d you bring me down here? To wave it around in my face and then tell me that I can’t have it?” Rhodey asked.

“I didn’t think about making you one,” Tony told him honestly. “I mean…” Tony stopped and you could see the gears turning in his head. He was thinking and calculating…

“This would revolutionize our military!”

“I want to help the people in Gulmira…” Tony said quietly. “I want to destroy Stark Industries weapons that are in the hands of terrorists over there… That’s it. Then the Mark III goes on the wall over there and it becomes décor…”

“You’re serious?” 

“Yes.”

“You want to go back into the war zone in order to defend—“

“Remember that man I told you about? Yinsen? That’s where he was from… I can’t just let them terrorize the people there…and use my weapons to do it,” Tony told her.

“And what happens when you eliminate that group in Gulmira? What happens when another one comes in and tries to take over? Are you going to jump in your suit and fly halfway across the world to defend them?”

Tony looked frustrated. “You don’t understand!”

“You’re right! I don’t!”

“It’s not that complicated!”

“Then why can’t you make these suits for our military?”

Tony looked really sad all of the sudden and Pepper wondered if something was wrong. She worried about the arc reactor; she knew that he was working on it. But then he spoke up and he voice was serious and careful. “I won’t risk a suit like this,” he said motioning to the ‘Mark III’. “Falling into the hands of terrorists to be used against our military like my weapons have… It’s one thing for them to have Jericho missiles…could you imagine them with suits like this? What kind of war would be waged? How many innocent people would die? How many of our own people would die because it somehow made it across enemy lines?”

“Tony—“

“Can you tell me how my weapons got into enemy hands? Can you promise me that if I made a whole army of these things that none of them would ever end up in enemy hands?”

“You know I can’t account for how Stark weapons managed—“

“I know…because I can’t either…” Tony told him. “But do you see how dangerous this all is? You weren’t there, Rhodey… You didn’t see the cache they had! You didn’t have one of your own missiles blow you up and throw shrapnel into your chest,” Tony went on and touched the middle of his chest where his arc reactor was. “You didn’t have your guns pointed in your face…”

“Tony—“

“You don’t know what it was like, Rhodey… I can describe everything to you, but until you’re in that cave with us…you’re not going to get it…” he told him. He wasn’t mean about it, but he was deadly truthful. And Pepper couldn’t agree more with him. Rhodey wouldn’t fully understand… No one ever would… 

“I have a good idea,” Rhodey told them.

“You’re military,” Pepper spoke up quietly. “They trained you for things like that… We were in the wrong place at the wrong time…and Tony’s…well, he’s Tony Stark and someone wanted him dead… It’s not like they blew up the convoy just to blow it up… They were targeting Tony…”

Rhodey frowned deeply. “I honestly don’t know what to say. You guys know that if there was anything else I could have—“

“We know,” Pepper told him. “We do…” She looked over at Tony, prompting him to repeat her sentiment because they did know that Rhodey did what he could…

“You did the best you could, Buddy,” Tony spoke up. He raked a hand through his dark hair. “But I just… I need you to back me on this… I need to try to get you to somewhat understand.”

“What if it’s not just a one-time thing?” Rhodey asked.

“I don’t know…”

“You have to keep me in the loop on this thing.”

“I will,” Tony promised. 

“Like, the kind of loop where you actually pick up a phone and talk to me directly. No e-mails or texts or letters in the mail,” Rhodey told him.

“Who does letters in the mail anymore?” Tony asked.

“You get my point.”

Tony pointed to the helmet of the ‘Mark III’. “This thing’s got a built in international communications system,” Tony told him. “I can call you from anywhere in the world…”

“I prefer you call me before you leave Malibu,” Rhodey told him.

“Me too,” Pepper said looking to Tony.

“I can do that,” Tony told them and looked a little happy that they all seemed to be in consensus that this was okay as long as he kept in touch with Rhodey about what he was doing. Pepper didn’t think this was going to be a one-time thing, though. There was no way that Tony would be able to locate all Stark Industries weapons world-wide in the hands of non-US troops and destroy them all in one go. 

 

. . .

 

“You didn’t go to the doctor, did you?” he whispered as he lay down beside her in her bed. 

“They didn’t have openings today,” she told him. “The doctor had surgery scheduled and he was only in the office early in the day…”

“I’m Tony Stark—“

“That doesn’t solve all problems,” she whispered. She scooted closer to him and rested her head against his chest as his arms wrapped around her. The glow of the arc reactor through his shirt was comforting. 

“It should.”

And she could see him frowning a bit with the glow hitting his face. He was running his fingers through her hair. It was like they were in the cave… How she missed this… She closed her eyes and pushed away all of the pain. 

“I want to show you something,” Tony whispered and then kissed her forehead. 

“I don’t think I can move,” she told him honestly. Pepper had just wanted to lie there and eventually fall asleep once the pain wasn’t so much as an issue. Eventually, it would be too much and she’d pass out or she’d just become accustom to it and be able to fall asleep. Either way, she needed the sleep.

Tony moved and then rested his forehead against hers. “I need you to trust me…”

“I’ve been working on it,” she told him honestly. It had been hard to allow Tony any of her trust after what had happened. Time was healing that, but it was still hard to completely trust him on his own. Maybe that’s what worried her about the suit… She wouldn’t be there to tell him that whatever he was doing was not something too smart.

“I’m going to carry you,” he told her as he adjusted himself in order to scoop her up.

“Tony, I need to sleep…” she whined. She hurt so badly and she was so exhausted. She’d been pushing herself, she knew that…but it was all things that needed to be done. This ‘not working’ for at least six weeks was going to kill her.

He didn’t seem to care. He scooped her up anyways, but was gentle and careful with her. She rolled her head towards his chest and wondered what was so important that he needed to show her this late at night when she was supposed to be resting… It was a good thing that Happy wasn’t there…she’d be yelling at them to stop once again. She really didn’t have the energy for that. 

“Tony, you shouldn’t be carrying me… You’re still healing too…”

“I carried you while I was in a cast,” Tony pointed out. “And you’re practically a feather… You need to eat more…”

Pepper rolled her eyes and just enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. Obviously, he was going to do what he wanted no matter what she said. And she didn’t have the energy to try to resist or get out of his arms and walk back to her room on her own. 

“Trust me, Pep,” he told her and they were going downstairs into the workshop. 

“If you’re going to show me something that you designed, I’m not in the mood, Tony…” she whispered. “I’ll call Happy and I won’t stop him when he wants to punch you—“

“Hey, hey… My face has been beaten enough… I’m not saying I didn’t deserve it…every time… I’m just saying… I need some time to heal too.”

“You’re a little too old for time outs.”

“You will obviously have to become more creative,” Tony teased.

“Obviously,” she whispered. She wasn’t too concerned. She knew they were in the workshop and she was exhausted. She just hoped that Tony wasn’t going to make her sit in some hard chair by herself. And she wasn’t really up for any kind of long drawn out presentation on something he’d built.

“JARVIS,” Tony said aloud. “Open the cocoon.” 

“Of course, Sir.”

There was a whooshing sound and Pepper worried a bit. What was this cocoon? She was fairly certain it wasn’t what Tony decided to name the suits. And he was lying her down into something… “Tony,” she started to argue.

“Just give me a minute, Pep,” he told her. He was setting her inside of something and adjusting her. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but the worry she felt was rising. 

“Ms. Potts is now in the correct position,” JARVIS announced.

He moved her hair away from her face and was looking down at her. “I designed this for you…with JARVIS’ help, of course…it’s going to help with the pain, I hope…” he told her. “It’s designed to keep your spine perfectly lined up without putting pressure anywhere. JARVIS will monitor you the whole time.”

“Am I supposed to sleep in here?” she asked.

“It’s supposed to be like stasis… But I didn’t think you’d appreciate me putting you in here until your doctor said that you should be healed enough,” Tony told her. “Ideally, JARVIS would put you into a comatose state…your body would heal…JARVIS would push fluids and nutrients and medication…and then when you woke up…you’d feel better…” She could see it in his eyes. He’d done this for her. He’d seen how much pain she’d been in and it hadn’t gotten any better…it had gotten worse… 

“I can’t just sleep that long,” she whispered. Pepper raised her arm to touch his cheek. “Someone has to look after you…”

“Happy’s here… Well, he’d be here.”

“It’s not the same… Happy won’t come down here… You don’t always listen to Happy.”

“I don’t always listen to you.”

“What about Stark Industries? And Obadiah? And what about your suits and your missions?” she asked. She couldn’t think of sleeping for that long while Tony was left to do who knew what… She didn’t want to wake up to find that he’d gotten himself killed or that Obadiah had taken over the company or anything like that… There was too much going on… 

“None of that matters…”

 

. . .

TBC...


	7. Tony: Behaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is from Tony's POV like the 7th chapter was in "All That Counts"

“Are you sure about this?” 

“No.”

“Obadiah is going to want to kill you.”

“He can try.”

“He might.”

“That’s where you come in, Happy,” Tony told him with a smile.

Pepper shook her head. 

It had been a long haul to get where they were… He still wasn’t sure how they’d survived. He wasn’t sure how he went from thinking about himself all of the time to thinking about him and Pepper, him and Pepper and the company, or anyone else for that matter… A year ago, all he would have wanted would have been to be left to do what he did best along with a supply of the best alcohol his money could buy and calendar models… None of that mattered now.

All that mattered was Pepper.

He had been trying to work up the courage to telling her that. To tell her straight. He knew that he’d screwed up royally…but that had been over a month ago now. They’d moved on and though he knew he hadn’t completely earned back her trust, he knew that he was getting close. 

It had taken them some time to put all of the papers and the projections and presentations together, but they’d done it. He hadn’t wanted to do any of it, but she’d pushed him. And Happy had even pitched in and it wasn’t even his area of expertise. They were about to turn around the company. He wondered if what his father would think. Would he be happy with what he’d accomplished? Would he be happy with whom he’d become? Pepper always told him that his parents would have both been proud of him. She never knew them, but he always took her word for it. Would they appreciate where he was taking the company? Would they understand?

“I’m nervous,” Tony admitted.

Pepper was holding onto his arm. She really wasn’t supposed to be walking around in heels, though that hadn’t stopped her before. She was supposed to be resting, but she’d insisted on being there. They hadn’t informed Obadiah of any of this. Pepper had been worried about what might happen. He’d been worried as well, but she had a feeling that something wasn’t right…and though he hadn’t understood it, he’d accepted it. Happy was alongside her, just there in case she needed to be supported, and he was carrying the metal case that contained everything they were going to need for the surprise presentation to Stark Industries’ Board of Trustees. 

“Don’t be,” she told him. “You’re going to be great.”

“You’re going to jump in if I start to screw things up, right?”

“Don’t I always?” she asked with a smile. 

He loved that smile.

“What if it doesn’t work?” he asked.

“Then, we regroup and try again,” she told him.

“We came all the way to New York,” Happy said. “This better work… There was a Harry Potter marathon I could have watched…”

“You know, we have all those DVDs,” Tony told him.

“I did not know that.”

Pepper shook her head.

He grinned. He didn’t watch much, but he tended to keep up on the current trends, even if it just meant that he had a library of movies that he never watched. But if he ever needed to watch a Harry Potter marathon, all those DVDs were going to be all there. So, he’d make sure that Happy got his marathon once they were back in Malibu. 

“Let’s focus,” Pepper told them. 

“Focusing,” Tony said.

“And best behavior.”

“Always.”

“My version.”

He just grinned in response. He knew what she meant, but given that people were probably going to be shocked and there was going to be the fact that Obadiah was most likely going to present, he thought that she was still smart to point that out just the same. He was going to be on his best behavior. 

He had to be. 

It was for her. 

Everything he did was for her.

 

. . .

 

The board meeting had gone smoothly, though it hadn’t gone exactly as planned. Everyone had been, of course, shocked to see him there. To see all three of them present. After all, he was Tony Stark. He was still President and CEO of Stark Industries even though for the last who knew how many years he’d let Obadiah run pretty much everything. He hadn’t realized how much Pepper had done in his place since she’d worked with him. How much she knew. He always knew she was smart. There was a reason why Stark Industries and then he, had hired her. It wasn’t just because she was breathtakingly beautiful…and painfully so. 

“They didn’t seem too keen on the foundation,” Pepper told him.

“I don’t care,” Tony said. “They seemed to be thrilled with about everything else we presented.”

“Except the part where you wanted to call a stop to the weapons being manufactured and effectively ending the contract with the US military,” Happy brought up.

“I said pause… We need to figure out a better way to keep track of those weapons…” 

“I’m not arguing with you, Boss… Just was pointing it out.”

They’d presented a lot to the board. It was a lot to think about. They’d expected to walk out of there and have them all in an uproar. Instead, most of them seemed fairly open minded. After all, he did hand them gold on a platter. They had done all of the work. Everything. Plans, advertising, budgeting…everything. Pepper had made sure that they’d have everything in place. So, everything that was presented had the work already done. It wasn’t guesswork. They’d been thorough. It was what the board liked to see.

The presentation had consisted of a new foundation, two items that they could produce, and the pausing of the weapons manufacturing. The latter had of course caused the most controversy. And no one was ever a fan of foundations or charities until they got all of the press about it. The foundation was for Pepper really. It was her idea. He’d wanted to call it the ‘Potts Foundation’, but she’d told him to call it the ‘Maria Stark Foundation’, but he’d pointed out that they already have one of those. So, instead…with a bit of hesitation, they’d called it the ‘Zahara Foundation’. 

The Zahara Foundation was presented as a foundation that helps girls and women in Afghanistan through education and safe haven. They’d presented all kinds of information about the treatment of women in that region, but none of the men in that room seemed interested. He knew it was important. It wasn’t just important to Pepper, but he knew it would be important to that area and he felt like Yinsen would approve. 

The two items that he’d come up with where basically things that they knew were going to need work. Tony had put up the arc reactor in a miniaturized form…and non-weaponizable…as something that could be used to power almost anything. It was something that he wanted to make sure not just the richest of rich could afford though… But in the process, they’d be putting power companies out of business. Tony didn’t have any problems with that. The main area he wanted to start implemented the possibility of using the miniaturized arc reactor was at hospitals. The second item was what he’d designed for Pepper… It was basically a healing pod… It would mean that anyone who was put on life support could also be sort of stored away. The pod could be programmed to do everything a nurse could do, but better because it could all be monitored. He was sure that there would be other medical applications, but that was the one that he’d presented. 

“What they hell were you thinking?!”

They all came to a stop and turned. They knew that this was a likely outcome. Obadiah Stane was pissed. Tony’d been prepared for this. He hadn’t talked to Obadiah since he’d come by and gotten him drunk and brought along the girls…the night that he almost lost everything. Pepper had talked to him since then, but he didn’t feel like anything productive was being done. Obadiah had done great things with the company, but it was time for new things… It was time to revive Stark Industries…to bring new life into it. Weapons wasn’t the only thing that the Stark name could carry…

“Things have got to change,” Tony told him evenly. He wasn’t going to get into a yelling match. It wouldn’t be professional. He’d promised Pepper that he’d be on his best behavior. And he had been. He wasn’t going to break that now.

Before he could move between them, Obadiah was in Pepper’s face with his finger pointed at her. He was screaming. “This is your doing! He’s not some puppet you can control!” Obadiah bellowed and it echoed throughout the building. 

“Lower your voice and back up,” Tony warned in a deadly quiet voice. He noticed that Happy had taken Pepper by the other arm and pulled her a step back. 

Obadiah started to laugh. “I see how it is… You fall in love with your secretary and start sleeping with her,” he said. “Which I remember telling you not to do… And then all of the sudden, you’re a changed man…”

He wanted to say or do something, but he knew it wouldn’t help anything. He could see members of the board down the hall and they couldn’t have a scene. It wouldn’t look good for him. It wouldn’t look good for anything. He couldn’t have that. This had to work. He needed to get back into the swing of things… He needed to make a difference in the world. He had to. 

“You’re not going to say anything?” Obadiah taunted. “I’ve cleaned up your messes for decades… All of the women that you’ve slept with… Everything that could ruin the name ‘Stark’, I’ve dealt with it… You didn’t have to worry about any of it,” Obadiah told him. “Just remember, Tony, I know where all the skeletons are hanging…”

He just stood there and took it. It wasn’t entirely a lie. Obadiah had cleaned up all kinds of situations, he was sure. Most, if not all, were things that he didn’t know. He’d lived a rather carefree existence up until Afghanistan. He didn’t have to worry about his schedule and he really could get away with tinkering and making public appearances when Pepper or Obadiah told him to. Things were changing…and Obadiah needed to get on board with them.

“It’s time we start a new chapter, Obadiah,” Tony told him. That was all he wanted to say. He felt like it was all he could say. He turned and found that he was being hauled backwards. This was not going to be good. He was being hurled onto the floor and suddenly the hall was filled with screaming. 

“Get security down here!” someone had yelled.

He wasn’t hurt though. He got up from the floor to find that Happy was holding Obadiah up against the nearby wall and most likely trying to keep from punching him in the face. He’d promised Pepper he’d be on his best behavior, too. He looked around and saw that the board members were talking. He wasn’t sure how this was going to look. He’d remained calm the whole time, though, and he’d not been the one to put his hands on someone else…so he just hoped that that counted for something. 

“Let’s go,” Pepper said as she put her hand on his chest and then went to work fixing his tie and his jacket. 

“You okay?” he whispered.

Pepper nodded, but didn’t look up at him. 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This hadn’t been the plan. He turned to see that Happy was still pinning Obadiah in place. “Happy, let’s go…”

“I’ll be right behind you, Boss,” he told him. “I’ll meet you both at the elevator.”

The elevator was only a few feet away, but he figured that if they were those few feet farther down the hallway then they could avoid any further problems with Obadiah. Or at least that’s what he hoped for anyways. He put his arm around Pepper’s shoulder, he didn’t care who saw, and guided her towards the elevator. Happy was there with them stepping into the elevator as they got in. Obadiah didn’t follow.

Tony reached out and pressed the button for the bottom floor.

 

. . .

 

“You’ve been quiet,” Tony told her once they reached the hotel room. Tony had reserved the penthouse suite even though Pepper had tried to convince them to get three rooms. He didn’t see the point as he and Pepper would be sharing a bed and Happy really didn’t care where he crashed. 

“Let’s get dinner ordered,” she suggested. She was avoiding his comment and he wasn’t happy about that. He watched as she stepped out of her heels and found a comfy place to sit. There was no doubt in his mind that she was exhausted and probably aching. 

“What do you want?” Happy asked. 

“Why don’t we all go out?” Tony suggested. He sat down next to Pepper, trying to show that he wasn’t in a hurry to leave right away. It had been some time since it was just the three of them eating together in public. It would be nice. And they were in a different city, they could eat anywhere… He didn’t care… He just wanted to forget about what had happened and Obadiah…

He wanted to focus on the future.

“I really don’t feel up to going out,” Pepper told him honestly and this time she looked at him. He could see the exhaustion in her face. “You and Happy go ahead, though… I’ll order something…”

“I’m going to go out and get some pizza… I told a buddy that I’d meet up with him to have a beer before we have to head out, if that’s okay,” Happy said.

Tony nodded. “Yeah, go out. Have fun.”

“Pep, you’re going to be okay?”

Pepper just smiled and nodded. “I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going to go change and then head out. I’ll have my phone if either of you needs me,” Happy told them and picked up the small duffel bag that he’d brought along.

“Thank you, Happy,” Tony said. 

These were two people that he knew had been through everything with him… Happy might not have been through the hell that he and Pepper had been through, but he’d been through other stuff before Pepper… He knew that he could always trust and count on them. No matter what. They would always be there for him. 

“What do you want to do?” he asked as he turned to Pepper. She looked like she was just barely staying awake. They weren’t supposed to push it, but he knew that she hadn’t been sleeping enough the last few days. They’d been pushing to get things done for the presentation to the board. Pepper had made a big deal about not waiting until the next meeting and he was glad that they’d done it, but at the same time…he wasn’t happy to see her in the state she was in. 

Happy had disappeared to change and his shoulder soon became a pillow. He didn’t mind. He’d noticed that she’d try not to do things like that in front of Happy. Even though Happy knew, it seemed like she was just trying to be polite. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her head. He was willing to do anything that she wanted. He’d just let her sleep if she wanted, but he knew that they had to eat. She needed to eat and he needed to make sure that she got a pain pill. 

“I just want to sleep,” she told him finally.

“You need to eat,” Tony reminded.

“I know,” she whispered. “I just don’t want to go out…”

“We can order in…or I can go get something… What do you want? Anything. It’s yours, Pep,” he told her as he ran his hand along her hair and through it. 

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “We can just order room service… That’s fine…” She sighed and just stayed like that. “Maybe a bath,” she told him. 

“I think we have one of those,” he said. “I could be wrong though…” If not, he was going to make sure she had one. He was serious about getting her whatever she wanted. She deserved to be pampered a bit, though he knew that he was doing a crappy job so far. 

She laughed lightly and he noticed that she didn’t move, not even when they could hear Happy coming back into the main living area. So, he knew that she was really done. 

“You better take care of her,” Happy told him as he headed for the door.

“Or else you’ll punch me?” Tony teased.

Happy looked deadly serious. “That’ll be the warm up…”

“I’m going to make sure she eats something and goes to bed,” Tony told him.

“And she needs—“

“A pain pill,” Tony finished. 

“I am capable,” Pepper spoke up.

“Let Tony pretend that he’s a real person for a few hours while I’m gone,” Happy told her. Happy gave Tony a good glare before finally leaving. 

“You two worry too much… I’m fine… I’m just tired,” she told him.

“You’re exhausted.” Tony scooped her up without asking. She didn’t seem to mind and rolled up against him. He carried her towards the master bedroom and set her down on the bed. “I’m going to go start up that bath for you,” he told her. 

“Tony—“

“I have no ideas besides you relaxing,” Tony promised as he disappeared. He looked over his shoulder to see that she was just sitting on the bed. “You’re going to need to strip down.” He closed the drain and started the water up. It was one of those overly large tubs with jets that could easily accommodate a family of four. 

“Tony—“

“I have seen you naked before,” he reminded. 

“What if Happy walks back in?”

“He’s not going to come back,” he told her. Tony smiled and checked the water before moving towels so they’d be closer for Pepper. He removed himself from the bathroom and approached her. “Requests for dinner?”

“Something light,” she said. 

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Okay… Go soak,” he said and motioned his head in the direction of the bathroom. Tony gave her her privacy and closed the doors to the master bedroom. He headed out to order room service. Tony just hoped that soaking in the tub would help relax Pepper a bit and possibly ease some of the aches and pains. 

 

. . .

 

Room service had arrived and Tony had waited a good ten minutes before he’d gone and knocked on the doors to the bedroom. He waited and then frowned when she didn’t answer. He opened the doors just a bit and peeked. “Pepper?”

No answer.

He could still hear the jets going in the tub in the bathroom. Maybe she was really comfortable and didn’t realize how much time had passed? It really hadn’t been a whole lot, but he’d thought she’d be out by now. But he was worrying a bit. “Pepper?” he called again. Maybe she just didn’t hear him?

No answer.

Tony frowned deeply. He didn’t like this. He moved towards the bathroom. The door was still open. He peeked in and found Pepper still in the bath. As he approached her, he noticed that she looked completely relaxed. When he got close enough to see her eyes, he noticed that they were closed. It looked like she was sleeping. He didn’t want to wake her, but at the same time he knew that she needed to eat…and it wouldn’t be fun to be sleeping in cold water either.

“Pep,” he said quietly. She stirred a bit and he wondered how much trouble he’d get in for trying to remove her from the tub. He stared at her for a long moment, she looked so content… He really did hate to move her, but at the same time he knew it needed to be done. “Pep,” he said again.

“Mmm?” 

“Food’s here,” he said as he gathered up the towels that he’d left nearby for her. He watched as she slowly opened her eyes and stretched a bit. 

“I fell asleep?”

“That’s what it looks like,” Tony told her. 

“I feel a little better,” she said as she rolled over onto her side and stretched a bit more.

Tony couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She was absolutely gorgeous. He held open one of the towels for her. It took her a couple of minutes, but eventually she got up in the tub and then stepped out. She held onto his arm for balance and then he wrapped her up. She wrapped her hair up into one of the other towels. He walked with her slowly across the bathroom floor. He didn’t want her to slip and she didn’t. 

“Thank you…”

“For what?” he asked.

“For not pushing…”

“Pep—“

“You’ve really surprised me,” Pepper told him. “I’m proud of you.”

He felt himself beaming. That was the best thing he’d heard in a while. “What Obadiah said earlier—“

“I’m fine, Tony…”

“But was that why you were upset?”

Pepper shrugged. “I know it’s stupid… I just—“

“We knew that he was going to flip out,” Tony reminded her. 

“I was hoping that he’d have stuck to doing so during the presentation rather than attack us personally in the hallway,” Pepper told him. She sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. “It was a disaster, right?”

“No.”

“We looked good in front of the board members, but Obadiah’s worked face to face with them longer than with you. It’s hard to really say what they thought of it…”

“It was really hard to keep from punching him in the face,” Tony admitted.

Pepper smiled and reached out to play with his tie. “You and Happy did so well… I was proud. We looked good. We just have to hope that that’s what they all saw.”

“Let’s not think about it right now,” Tony suggested. “I’ll let you change and then we can eat…”

“Sounds good. Could you get my bag?”

Tony nodded and left her just long enough to retrieve her bag from the other room. 

 

. . .

 

“I’m keeping you up,” Tony whispered.

“You’re not leaving this bed,” Pepper told him.

He wasn’t going to argue. 

They’d been lying in bed like that since they’d finished dinner. Pepper had taken her pain pill and was feeling one hundred percent better, or at least that’s what she told him. She seemed better too… He’d thought that she’d drift off, but she’d just wanted to talk and be held. He was okay with that… In fact, he was more than okay with that…

“Is this difficult for you?” 

Tony looked down at her in confusion. He could see the lines of her face with the soft glow of his arc reactor. “What do you mean?”

“Us… Like this…”

“I love being with you, Pepper,” Tony confessed. And it was true. “I would lay in bed with you like this all day…” And he would. He would leave the workshop for her and he’d stay out of the workshop for her. “Don’t you know that yet?”

She was quiet and just stared up at him. Her hand was on his face and he rolled his face to kiss the palm of her hand. “I know I’m still earning your trust back…” He sighed. “And I know that I’m still working through this new life that I’d never planned on…” Tony was still trying to figure out how to be a responsible adult. He was learning slowly, but he still had so much to learn…

“All I know…is that I don’t like it when we’re apart for long,” she whispered. 

And he felt the same way. 

He liked it when Pepper sat down in his workshop, even if she was doing something else. There was something comforting about her presence. There always had been…but it was almost intensified since they returned. He had hated sleeping so far from her… He far preferred to lie next to her…and when that wasn’t possible…to sit in her room while she slept. 

“I actually have something for you,” Tony told her.

“What?” 

“It’s a surprise… I was going to wait…” he said, but the more he thought about it…the more he couldn’t wait to give it to her. He felt like he’d already waited long enough. “Give me a moment…” he told her before leaving bed and leaving the room. He hadn’t brought his bag into the bedroom and found it on one of the chairs in the main room. Tony retrieved a small box from his bag and headed back to the room with it. 

When he re-entered the room, he found that Pepper was sitting up and she’d turned on the bedside lamp. He hid the box behind his back as he approached the bed. He sat on the bed once again and then held out the little box to her.

“Tony—“

“I don’t want arguing,” he whispered as he slowly opened the small box.

“Tony—“

 

. . .

TBC...


	8. The Rocky Road Ahead

Pepper was going to have a heart attack at the sight of the box. Not because she thought that he was proposing. That was just something that seemed miraculous, as she never thought Tony Stark would propose to someone with intentions of settling down. And she never thought she’d be the person he’d do it with. But what was really making her panic inside was that she couldn’t say ‘yes’. She was going to have to disappoint him. It broke her heart, but she wasn’t ready. They weren’t in the right place yet. They were both still healing and they had a lot more hell to go through in order to get Stark Industries back on track. She couldn’t be a distraction like that…

“Tony, I—“

“Breathe, Potts,” he whispered and leaned in and kissed the side of her head. “It’s not what you think.”

“I think it’s a ring in a box…”

“It came in another box,” Tony told her. “But that’s besides the point.”

“What is the point?”

“That I love you and that I wouldn’t be the man I am trying to be without you,” Tony told her. “Pep—“

“I can’t, Tony,” she whispered and tears were falling from her eyes. He looked confused, but not crushed. She felt so awful. And she just realized that he just told her that he loved her. They hadn’t used that word before. Did she love him? She thought maybe she did…but right now her mind was racing so fast and her heart was beating so loudly without her whole being…echoing in her ears and pulsing through her fingertips and feet. She covered her face and suddenly wished that she’d put her foot down and made him get three rooms…of course they would have probably ended up in a bed together…but she felt like maybe she would have been good and just slept…

He pulled her tight to him and wrapped his arms around her. “Pep, don’t cry…” She knew that he must have set down the box because one of his hands was going through her hair and the other was rubbing circles on her back gently. 

“I’m sorry, Tony,” she managed to get out. She really did feel awful. Had she been leading him on to think that that was what she had wanted? That she expected a proposal? They hadn’t even gotten back to the point where they’d been as close as they’d been before her surgery. They were so close to being there… 

“Shh… You didn’t even let me talk,” he told her. 

“I couldn’t let you talk through whatever you’d thought of just to have me say ‘no’ at the end,” she whispered as the tears still fell. 

“I wasn’t going to ask a question,” Tony said gently.

Pepper’s head flipped up to look into his face. “What?”

He laughed lightly. “I’m not proposing…”

“You had a box…and a ring…”

“A man can’t have a box and a ring and not be proposing?”

“No,” Pepper said quickly. 

“No?”

“No.”

“What if there’s no box?”

“Tony, why would you give me a ring if you’re not proposing?” she asked curiously. Her heart and her panic were starting to quiet. Now, she was just curious and downright stumped at what Tony was doing. 

“If you’d let me talk,” Tony told her. And so she just stared up at him, still wrapped in his arms. “Pepper Potts…so afraid I was going to propose,” he whispered into her ear and he laughed again for just a moment. “Don’t worry, Pep… One day, when I’ve got myself together…that day will come… It’s just not today…”

“Okay,” she whispered. She really couldn’t think of herself as Mrs. Tony Stark. She could easily live the lifestyle, but she just couldn’t think that far ahead. Right now it was hard enough to think about tomorrow… She didn’t even think that she could think of where she’d be in five years… After all, a year ago, she wouldn’t have even guessed she’d be where she was now…

She watched as he reached back and snatched the ring from the box. He held it up to her. It was beautiful and simple. It was a rose gold band with ‘I love you’ engraved in black script on the outside. “This is a promise,” he told her. “A promise I’m making to you.” She just stared at him. “You’ve seen me at my worst…and you’re going to see me at my best… You’ve gone through hell with me…and we both made it out of there alive…and stronger…and closer… I promise you that I’ll make you proud of me everyday…” Tears were streaming anew from her eyes. She hadn’t expected this. “I promise that I’ll take care of you and let you take care of me… I promise that I’ll listen when you tell me my way isn’t going to work… I promise that I will love you…” 

Pepper’s head dropped and she pressed her forehead against his chest, right above where the arc reactor was. The glow lit up her face and she just cried into his chest. These were happy tears, though. After everything that had happened that day, she needed this… 

“Pep? Hey… Is it really more horrible than when you thought I was proposing?” he asked as he moved her face so that he could see it. She just looked up at him through her tears for a moment. She was trying to think of the right words to say. 

She let out a small laugh and then shook her head. “No, it’s even better than proposing…”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that statement,” Tony told her.

Pepper kissed him and ran her fingers through his hair as he held her tight. “I love you,” she whispered against his lips. She hadn’t thought about the words, they’d just come out. 

“Does this mean I can give you the ring before I lose it in the bed?” he asked as he pressed his forehead against hers. 

A smile spread across her face and she pulled away and held out both of her hands. She didn’t know where it went. She wondered if Tony knew… He held up the ring and seemed to be confused as well. She let out a laugh. “Don’t know where it goes?”

“Does it matter?”

Pepper shrugged. If he didn’t seem to have an idea, then she was going to make things less crazy because she knew that if Happy saw it on her left ring finger that there was going to be another punching round. So, she dropped her left hand.

“Wait—“

Sighing, she held up her left hand to him and used her other hand to point out the ring finger. “A ring here usually means we’re engaged or married… And if Happy sees it there—“

He cut her off with a kiss and then was slipping it on the right ring finger. She melted into the kiss and realized that the ring fit perfectly. She was surprised, but then at the same time she wasn’t. JARVIS had taken a full body scan of her when Tony had been designing the pod for her to heal in…it would have been easy to get the information from the scan… 

His arms wrapped around her again and they were falling over into the pillows. She laughed and ran her fingers from his temple to his cheek. She just stared at him. She was so happy right now…but she knew that they had so much to do… So much needed to be done for Stark Industries… 

“You’re worrying,” Tony told her.

“I was thinking,” she corrected.

“Tonight, I don’t think we need to think… I think we just need to sleep like this… In the morning, we can do all the thinking…”

“I like that plan,” she said as she curled up with him. The ring felt weird on her hand, but at the same time…she liked it. She loved the meaning behind it…and she felt like Tony was growing that much more. No matter what happened with the board, Tony Stark was a different person…and he was going to make the world a better place.

She had faith in him.

 

. . .

 

“Should I congratulate you?” Happy asked gruffly.

“Excuse me?” Pepper asked confused. They had ordered in breakfast and were sitting around the table together eating. It had been fairly quiet and she’d just assumed that Happy was still hung over from the night before and was trying to get more coffee in before saying anything. 

Happy motioned to her ring with his fork. 

Pepper had completely forgotten about the ring. It wasn’t that she was ashamed of it or anything; she just didn’t want it to cause a rift between them or cause World War III. They needed to work together. “Tony gave it to me,” she said quietly. 

“It’s not an engagement ring,” Tony spoke up. “If you’re thinking that…”

“What kind of guy gives a ring to a girl without it being for a proposal?” Happy asked and shook his head. “You give a girl earrings or a bracelet or a necklace…or something else… And something that sparkles…” He sighed and went back to his breakfast.

Tony laughed lightly. “That’s why I’d obviously need to take you along with me if I were planning something so serious.”

“You don’t do serious.”

“I’m learning,” Tony told him.

And she knew that was true.

Happy just didn’t like how close she and Tony were. She sometimes felt guilty because she knew now that Happy had feelings for her and everyday he watched her with Tony… He slept out on the couch last night while they slept soundly cuddled together. 

“Do we have any idea how long we have to hang out here?” Happy asked a few minutes later. “I mean, are we really waiting for the board to get back to you or can we go home?”

“I was planning on going into the office here,” Tony spoke up. “I’m sure Obadiah is probably there…”

“You’re going to make waves,” Pepper said quietly.

“Well, we’d all be going,” Tony told her and she gave him a look. 

“The last thing we need is Obadiah trying to kill you,” Pepper pointed out. “Can’t we just let things cool down?”

“I’m still CEO and Chairman of Stark Industries,” he said.

“And I’m glad that you remember that and want to be involved. You know that. I’m happy that you want to make all of these changes… But change doesn’t happen overnight, Tony,” Pepper told him delicately. “And Obadiah has been in his position for a long time… The board trusts him… The employees in the company trust him…”

“Do you?”

“You know I don’t anymore… Not after we got back…” 

“You both agreed that I have to step up and that it’s time for some changes,” he said. 

Pepper frowned. “Why don’t you at least call ahead and see if anyone is there? You know how those types of…”

“You mean because I am one?”

“In recovery,” she teased.

 

. . .

 

They didn’t push it. Instead, they went home and Pepper was glad for it. New York was a different kind of place than they were used to… And she felt like they needed home right now. Sunny Malibu was waiting for them…and they could work on getting things in order there. Plus, she knew that her inbox was filled with e-mails that she’d been ignoring from when they had been working on the presentations. 

“I vote for sleeping when we get home,” Happy said.

“Sleep on the plane,” Tony said.

“I thought this was a jet.”

Tony just stared in his direction. 

“I have a lot of work to catch up on,” Pepper told them. “So, if I close my bedroom door to keep you both out, it’s because I’m trying to get work done…”

“You don’t have to do it right when we get home, Pep,” Tony told her. “It can wait until tomorrow…”

“You don’t realize how many e-mails I get,” Pepper told him. “I leave them a day, then it takes me twelve hours the next day to go through them all… You should have seen my inbox when we came back from Afghanistan…”

She saw him frowning at her. But it was true. She had a lot of work. Maybe she was exaggerating a bit, but she had to take into considerations the interruptions that she knew would come even though she was telling them now. Pepper knew them both too well. 

“I did think of a way around the board,” Tony spoke up.

“Oh?” 

“Call a media conference… Just announce it… Let the public decide…”

“You really want Obadiah to be the next person to punch you in the face, don’t you?” Pepper asked in frustration. She understood where he was coming from and honestly, it could work…but things were delicate right now… They needed to give it a couple of days. And they needed to tread carefully when it came to Obadiah. As much as they’d thought he was a friend these last years, he wasn’t anymore…and that made things harder. He didn’t respond and instead just shrugged. “We have to take things a little slower than that, Tony… Why don’t you have Rhodey over?”

“Are you trying to set me up on a play date?”

“I need someone to keep you out of trouble while Happy sleeps and I work,” Pepper told him.

“Maybe I could help you with your work.”

“I think that would be more stressful than doing it myself.”

He pouted at her and she could see that he was trying to appear hurt, but it wasn’t going over very well. “I’m a smart guy…a genius even…”

“Then you should take the ‘out’ and have Rhodey over…”

“I suppose I could…see if he was available…”

“Might as well call now,” Happy suggested.

Pepper nodded in agreement. 

“Why do I feel like I’m being put in time out?”

“It’s more like recess,” Happy told him. “But with supervision.”

 

. . .

 

Rhodey hadn’t been able to come over; he wasn’t even in the state. But Tony had disappeared into his workshop anyways and had been quiet for three hours. As far as Pepper knew, Happy was still passed out in one of the other rooms. She decided that she needed a break, so she went down to check on Tony. 

She punched in her code and entered the workshop. The music was low and soothing rather than loud and noisy. She walked slowly through and was sure that JARVIS had announced her presence. Tony didn’t like to be snuck up on…especially not in the lab. She found him working on schematics for the suits. He’d designed a display in the workshop for those that he completed and had. So, the first alcove was empty and then the next two housed ‘Mark II’ and ‘Mark III’. 

“How many are you going to make?” she asked.

He shrugged. 

“Have you ever thought about trying to retrieve the pieces of the ‘Mark I’?” Pepper asked as she made her way around the holoscreens that he had up. She came up behind him and hugged him and then kissed his neck. She laid her head against his back and just enjoyed that feeling.

“When I went to Gulmira,” he spoke up quietly. “I scanned for it… For anything… There was nothing… Maybe the Army found it… Maybe Raza’s men found it… I don’t know for sure… But it’s gone…”

“Maybe you’ll still find it,” she whispered. “Complete the collection.”

“Maybe.”

She turned him around and kissed him. She wondered if talking about Afghanistan made him sad. She always thought about Yinsen and Rhosad… She never told anyone, though, she had a feeling that Tony knew… Pepper was fairly sure that anyone else would think she was crazy… 

“If that’s what I get for sitting down here messing around and leaving you to do work for a couple of hours, I’ll do it more often,” he teased when they broke the kiss.

Pepper ran fingers through his hair and stared at him thoughtfully. “I’m really proud of you.”

“I know,” he whispered.

“But I don’t always say it.”

“But I always know, Pep.”

She beamed at him. “Let’s go out tonight… You and me…”

“Happy will be suspicious and disappointed… Probably more disappointed.”

Pepper smiled. “So, we’ll bring him back something.” She thought that they deserved it. It would be nice too… She’d work hard all day and he’d sit down there and tinker…he wouldn’t even realize how much of the day had passed… They needed to get out and live a little…

“I was thinking…” Tony told her. “I owe you a vacation…and an island…”

She kissed him again and then stared up at him. “If you’re trying to get rid of me—“

“Never.”

“Let’s get Stark Industries settled…and then in a few months…we can go…”

“Just us?”

“Happy deserves a vacation too,” she teased, but at the same time she was serious.

“I’ll send him in the opposite direction,” Tony told her and then stole another kiss. 

She giggled and then kissed him in return. Pepper didn’t mind that idea, though they’d have a lot of time to think about where they wanted to go. Tony had been all over the world for conferences and for pleasure… She wasn’t sure if there was anywhere that he hadn’t been… And with his suits, he could go anywhere at anytime… 

“It’s a date then,” he said with a bright smile.

“Tonight—“

“And the vacation.”

Pepper smiled. “Tonight at seven? I’ll have JARVIS remind you when it gets closer?”

“You’re amazing.”

“Don’t forget it.”

 

. . .

 

Pepper had programmed JARVIS to start reminding Tony at four thirty. She figured that it would take him a few times to actually leave the workshop. She’d heard him getting ready and had decided to get ready herself. She’d taken a relaxing long shower and then had taken far too much time deciding on what she was going to wear. It was so odd, but most of her closet was now there… 

The last things she needed were her heels slipped on and her bag. No need for a coat. It was far too warm still outside. She’d checked the temperature before picking what she’d wear. They’d most likely be inside anyways, but she always liked to be prepared. She walked into the main common living area and couldn’t find him. Frowning, Pepper called him. “Tony!” And then she made her way upstairs towards his room. She knocked and when there was no answer, she pushed it open. No Tony. She even ventured farther in to make sure he wasn’t in the closer or bathroom.

“JARVIS, where is Mr. Stark?” she asked.

“In the workshop, Ms. Potts,” JARVIS responded. 

“Thank you.”

She thought it was odd because she knew that he’d been getting ready, but maybe he had thought of something and wanted to make sure he added it before they left. Pepper decided it was going to be easier to gage how long it was really going to take if she went down into the workshop herself. She left her heels at the top of the stairs, not feeling the need to chance it. She felt so much better, but you never knew what could happen in the workshop and she’d rather be barefoot.

She froze at the bottom of the stairs. The door was gone. Part of the window that normally held the pin pad was missing…and there was glass all over the floor. But the glass wasn’t what caught her eye. The familiar pieces of the ‘Mark I’ littered the workshop entry among the broken glass.

“Tony!” she screamed. 

Pepper knew that if Tony had found it that he would have said something. He’d have had to call Rhodey to get clearance in order to take the ‘Mark III’ to retrieve it…or she would have known from shipping logs… And there hadn’t been a delivery to the house… She would have known about it… And she’d set JARVIS to alert her if Tony left the house while she was in doing her work anyways… He’d been on his best behavior…

So, how did this get into the workshop?

It was a relic compared to the others…

It had been lost in the deserts of Afghanistan…

Slowly and carefully, she tiptoed through the shattered glass. “Tony!” she yelled again. Worry spread through her. She couldn’t even fathom what had happened… How the glass had been broken and where had the pieces of the ‘Mark I’ appeared from? As she got farther through the glass, she noticed drops of blood on the floor. They were drops, she had to remind herself, not a puddle. She didn’t hear anything as she made her way carefully through the glass and that sent panic through her. 

“Tony!” she screamed again and attempted to leap over the last part of the glass. She had been trying to hurrying across, wanting to be able to get to Tony. He had to be hurt if there as blood… And he wasn’t answering… So, she could only think that he was badly hurt and possibly unconscious. Her back argued with her choice and she cringed as pain surged through part of her back. She landed hard, her knees and hands tried to break her fall. Glass dug into her delicate flesh and she cried out. If she’d landed a few inches farther, her hands would have been safe from the glass. It didn’t matter right now. They were just cuts… They wouldn’t even require stitches… She crawled the last foot until she was completely out of the glass. She looked down at her hands briefly and then turned and shook them over the broken glass. Some removed itself along with drops of her own blood. She reached down and tried to clear some of the glass from her knees. It didn’t seem like they’d stayed stuck into her knees like they had in her hands. It was enough, she told herself. 

Moving further into the workshop and froze when she found Tony lying face down in front of the Mark II and Mark III. “Tony!” she screamed and hurried to his side. He was pale and shakily, she reached out with two fingers to search for a pulse. 

Faint pulse. 

Carefully, she rolled him over. The first thing she noticed was that the light was out. The soothing light that the arc reactor normally radiated was out. Tony had told her and Happy before they’d gone to New York that he needed to find something to replace the palladium. That the palladium was in essence, poisoning him, even though the arc reactor was what was keeping him alive. Pepper started to panic as her fingers pulled at the hem of the white t-shirt he had on, his light grey button-up dress shirt had already been unbuttoned. She pulled it up and felt her heart stop and her breath seize up as she saw the empty socket that normally held his arc reactor. 

“Tony!” she screamed as tears fell at rapid pace down her cheeks. He wasn’t going to die. He’d made it out of that cave and he’d changed…and she wasn’t going to let it end like this… 

“It’s too late, Pepper,” a voice said from behind her.

She froze. 

Pepper watched as she could see Tony’s chest rise and fall for a moment.

He was still alive.

There was still a chance…

But the voice… 

She’d told Tony that they had to be careful…

They hadn’t thought to update security on the house through JARVIS upon their return from New York.

Obadiah Stane stood behind her and as she turned her head to look at him, she saw the arc reactor still glowing in his hands… He held Tony’s life effectively in his hands… 

“Please…” she whispered through tears.

“No.”

 

. . .

TBC...


	9. The Grim Reaper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a hard chapter for me to write. So, here's your warning...you may want to get tissues!

Pepper sobbed as she tried to think of another way to help Tony. As far as she knew, there wasn’t another arc reactor. The Mark II and Mark III all hooked into his arc reactor like the Mark I had. She didn’t care if Obadiah heard her, she had to know… “JARVIS? Does Mr. Stark have a back-up miniaturized arc reactor?” she asked.

“No, Ms. Potts,” JARVIS responded.

Obadiah laughed at the response and she just sobbed more. 

“He’ll die without it,” Pepper told Obadiah. “Please…”

“That’s the point,” Obadiah told her. “Things were supposed to be different… He wasn’t supposed to involve you…”

“He’s changed—“

“Oh, right…he changed in that cave in Afghanistan,” Obadiah said like he’d heard it a thousand times. He bounced the arc reactor in the palm of his hand. “The thing is… He wasn’t supposed to come back…and you weren’t supposed to go in the first place… I had counted on you putting your foot down…”

“What?”

“Come now, Pepper… You had to have known that Afghan terrorists weren’t the ones who wanted Tony dead… They like his weapons… He’s the golden goose…always producing new and improved ways to kill people…”

And it hit her like a truck. Obadiah had been behind everything that had happened in Afghanistan. Raza had warned her. Rhosad had warned her. They really had tried to keep her safe… Because who would be one of the first people to greet her when she got home? Obadiah Stane. She hadn’t even left Afghanistan before he showed up… And then she remembered his reaction when Tony had stepped out of the truck inside of Camp Joyce. 

“Why?” she asked.

“Let’s face it… Tony tinkers and wastes money… Without Tony, there’s still a company… My company… Of course, I would have consoled you… I could have used a mistress…”

Pepper shook her head as she tried to absorb what he was saying. “You couldn’t have thought—“

“Oh, it would have worked…” Obadiah told her as he moved towards her. “But now I’m going to have to kill you… I’ll make it fast,” Obadiah told her. “And then I’ll make it look like Tony did it… And maybe that driver…” Obadiah chuckled and then pointed out at her. “I got it… He found you in bed with the driver and so he killed you both and then killed himself because he couldn’t live with himself…”

He pulled out a device and she found herself tensing up, but not moving. She couldn’t move from Tony… She wouldn’t leave him to die alone… If Obadiah were going to kill her, then she’d be right there with him… She looked down at Tony and watched as the tears hit his bare chest.

A gunshot rang out and Pepper screamed. 

“Pepper!”

She just cried as she clutched Tony’s still form.

“Pepper!”

Laughter rung out and Pepper looked up. Happy was standing across from them and Obadiah was still standing looking amused. No one had been shot, but none of that was helping Tony. “Tony needs the arc reactor,” Pepper told Happy and then looked towards Obadiah. 

She watched as Happy held the gun to Obadiah. “Slide it over to Pepper,” Happy commanded. She hadn’t ever heard that tone from Happy. He was deadly serious and he sounded almost evil. She felt bad thinking that, but it’s all she could think… 

“Okay,” Obadiah said with a laugh. He set it on the floor and slid it in her direction. It stopped a couple of feet from where Obadiah stood.

Pepper scrambled for it and as her hand touched it, Obadiah yanked her up by her hair. She screamed out and frantically kicked the arc reactor. She watched it skid across the floor and hid Tony’s side. He didn’t move. She could see the look on Happy’s face. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.

“Let her go!” Happy yelled.

“I know you don’t want me to hurt her,” Obadiah said as he pulled on her hair, which got him a whimper from her. “JARVIS, how long does Tony have until he kicks the bucket?”

“I cannot be certain, but Mr. Stark most likely only has minutes before he expires without his arc reactor,” JARVIS announced.

“Happy! You have to do it!” Pepper yelled. 

“You’re going to put that gun down and slide it over to me first though,” Obadiah said. “Or else, I’ll crush it before you can get to it…”

“Don’t hurt her,” Happy said as he set the gun on the floor and slid it. She watched as he slowly made his way towards where Tony lie lifeless. 

Obadiah was moving closer towards the gun, keeping her close and tightly in his hold. He held her arm now and she struggled against him, but right now she was more concerned about Tony living… She watched as Happy tried to do it. 

“My hand’s too big!” Happy said in frustration as he tried to put the cord into the metal housing first. “Pepper!” 

“Please,” she pleaded as she struggled against Obadiah’s hold. “Please let me save him…”

“Pep,” she barely heard and she knew it was Tony. 

“Time to die,” Obadiah said as he aimed the gun towards Happy. Pepper struggled and messed up his aim. The gun barrel was pushed against her head. “I didn’t want to make this messy, Pepper, but I will if I need to.”

“No!” Happy yelled. 

Pepper sobbed and squeezed her eyes shut. 

Here they were. About to die at the hands of a man that they thought they could trust. They were home on US soil. They were in the one place in the whole mansion that felt the safest. And they were going to die. 

A gunshot rang out and she battled with herself on whether or not she wanted to open her eyes and see who had been hit. She didn’t want to see them like that. She wanted to remember Happy as sweet and caring and fierce. She wanted to remember his smile and his kindness. She wanted to remember Tony as the man that she’d fallen in love with. The man who had changed and shocked her… She didn’t want to see them bloodied and shot and dying…

“No,” she heard Obadiah whisper.

Her eyes shot open and there was Tony sitting up with the arc reactor back in his chest. Beside him, Happy lie shot but still breathing. “Please,” she pleaded. 

“Shut up!” Obadiah told her when she started to struggle and he clamped down on her arm making her cry out. 

He’d been too focused on her that he hadn’t noticed that Tony had moved. Pepper struggled harder and felt relief rush through her as she heard the clink of armor. Obadiah threw her aside and she watched as he turned back towards Tony, who was now clad in the Mark III armor. She hit the floor and skid for a moment, but the glass still hurt more. Pepper looked back at Tony in the armor and smiled, he’d taken her note about getting into the armor easier to heart. 

“Get out of here,” Tony told her. 

She nodded, but then she looked over at Happy. She couldn’t leave him there. So, she ran to Happy’s side and started to haul his body towards the line of cars that Tony kept in there. Pepper was determined not to leave him there bleeding and dying. He wasn’t going to die, she told herself.

“Go, Pepper,” Happy told her and tried to swat her arm.

She looked down and panic rushed through her again. She could see now clearly where he’d been shot. Right in the middle of the chest and there was so much blood… Pulling him was leaving a bloody trail. She stopped and was about to press her hands over the wound when she remembered the glass. She looked down at her hands and more tears fell. She looked around and saw a rag nearby. She didn’t know if it was clean or dirty, but she didn’t care. They could deal with infection later, it wouldn’t be further injuring him like it would for her to press against the wound with hands full of glass shards. She balled it up and pressed it against the wound. The glass in her hand dug in further and she cringed, but held it tightly in place just the same.

“Pepper—“

“Don’t tell me to go!” she shouted at him through her tears. “I’m not leaving you!” She turned her head to see Tony pressing Obadiah up against the wall. His armored hand was on Obadiah’s throat and as much solace as she’d take knowing he was dead…she couldn’t let him do it. “Tony! Stop! Tony!” He looked over at him and for a moment, she wasn’t sure what he was going to do. But he stopped. He let Obadiah collapse to the ground. 

“JARVIS,” Tony said. “We need the police for attempted murder and we need an ambulance for a gunshot.”

“They are already on their way, Sir,” JARVIS responded.

Pepper turned her attention back to Happy. “Help’s on its way, you hold on…”

“It’s better this way,” Happy said with a smile on his face. He reached up and touched her cheek and then wiped the tears away. She shook her head against his hand. 

“Don’t say that,” she whispered. 

“You two don’t need me anymore,” Happy told her. “I think I’ve punched Tony enough in the head to get him on the right track.” He coughed and smiled brighter. “Plus, he’s going to take care of you…aren’t you?” And then Happy turned his head. 

Pepper turned to see that Tony was right there, still in the suit, but with the faceplate flipped back so you could see his face. 

“You know I am,” Tony said and she could hear that he was barely keeping it together in his voice. 

“No!” Pepper shouted at Happy. “You’re going to be okay!” And even though they were in the workshop, she could hear the sirens. They were close. So close. “I can hear them…” she told him and she realized that he’d already gone. “No…no…”

“Pep,” Tony whispered.

“You have to hide the suits…” she whispered. 

“Pep—“

“Do it,” she told him. “I’ll stay here with Happy…” She still hadn’t moved her hand from putting pressure on his wound. She knew that he was gone, but in the back of her mind, she hoped that they could do CPR…they could do something and bring him back… Happy had loved her…and he seemed so joyful to know that Tony would be there to take care of her and love her… It broke her heart a bit. What if she’d given Happy a chance? She couldn’t even fathom what it would be like… She’d just never thought of him in that way… 

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she’d been aware of people in the workshop. They were hovering and one had touched Happy, checking for a pulse…but they hadn’t done anything. She was finally being pulled from Happy and was immediately swung around once she was on her feet. Arms wrapped around her and she just rested against his chest. 

“He’s gone,” she whispered.

“I know,” he whispered back. “I’m sorry… I couldn’t move… I couldn’t help…”

Her arms were at her sides and she pulled back a step and looked over to see the police putting Obadiah into handcuffs. She just hoped that JARVIS had an audio recording of Obadiah admitting to having hired people to kill Tony… She looked down at her hands and just didn’t know what to do. Her head was spinning and it was all too much. 

He held her hands still by taking her wrists as he looked down at her hands, examining them. “Where else are you hurt?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter…”

“Pep—“

“My knees…” she told him after a moment. “I think just my hands and my knees.”

“C’mon,” he whispered and put an arm around her. 

He guided her towards the door and once they got towards the glass, he picked up her and held her safely in his arms as he walked her out of the workshop and up the stairs. He’d set her down on the couch in the main living area and eventually a medic had come to look her over. She’d been vaguely aware of Tony explaining to the medic that he’d rather that she was treated at the house rather than having to take her to the hospital.

 

. . .

 

Through everything, Tony had been there. 

It hadn’t made things any easier.

She’d hardly talked to him in a week.

She was still reeling from almost seeing Tony die, Obadiah’s confession, and then watching Happy die right in front of her… It had been too much for her to deal with. She’d just wanted to be alone, but at the same time…she hadn’t… So, every night after she was asleep…Tony would come into her room and sleep next to her. She’d always know when he snuck in. She’d pretended to be asleep and would end up rolling closer to him, so his arm would end up around her. And in the morning when she woke, he’d be gone. Breakfast would be on her bedside table and then he’d bring her lunch and dinner later… 

Today was the funeral… 

She wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through the day. 

Pepper had barely touched her breakfast and then had thrown everything she’d eaten back up not even an hour after. She’d cried her eyes out before it was even ten. Pepper figured that maybe then she wouldn’t be a hysterical mess when they finally left for the funeral. Tony had hired a car and Rhodey would be driving over with them. That was really all she knew.

“Pep,” he said quietly and knocked twice on the door. 

She was sitting on the edge of her bed in her bra and panties. She’d curled her hair slightly and done her make-up, but she wasn’t dressed. “I can’t go,” she whispered and knew that he couldn’t hear her. She closed her eyes and it pushed another tear down her face. 

“Pepper,” he said again and she could hear the door opening this time. He didn’t say anything, but just entered. She heard him close the door behind him and wondered if that meant that Rhodey was already there. He was fully dressed in a black suit and tie with a black button-up shirt on. He looked horrible, but she didn’t expect different. It was how she felt.

“Hey,” he whispered as he crouched down in front of her and wiped the tear away. “You okay?”

She shook her head.

“Stupid question,” he muttered.

“I can’t go,” she told him. She looked at him and saw how much he was hurting. Their moments where they slept in each other’s arms in the middle of the night had been the closest that they’d gotten to comforting each other in a week. She just hadn’t been able to cope. Happy had loved her and she’d chosen Tony. Pepper had felt guilty for some reason… She knew it was stupid; Happy had wanted Tony to take care of her. He’d said it before he’d died. They’d both been there.

“You don’t have to,” he told her. “But I think you need to…”

“I don’t want to see him—“

“He was cremated… He had a letter at his house… He had written out exactly what he wanted… This is just the church stuff… The ashes will go to his family…”

It didn’t help. 

“His mom—“

“I had her flown in…and cousins…”

She straightened his tie for a moment, trying to focus on that. Brushing any lint off of his jacket. But it didn’t help. Pepper collapsed into him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. She clung to him, her fingers digging into him. She breathed deeply and knew that she couldn’t cry anymore. Her body couldn’t do it anymore. So, she just held onto him. He held onto her too and kissed the side of her head. 

“I wish I could say that it’s going to be okay, Pep,” he whispered. “But I can’t… I wish I could fix things… But I can’t… All we can do is move forward…”

“Obadiah—“

“He’s going to face justice… I’ll make sure of it,” Tony swore.

“What time is it?” 

“Two forty-five.”

She gasped. It started at three. “You go…go with Rhodey…”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

“Tony—“

He pulled back and cupped her face. He kissed her forehead. He kissed next to each of her eyes before placing a kiss on her lips. “Let me help you get dressed…” She just nodded. He pulled the black dress that she’d pulled from the hanger and unzipped it. She got up and he helped her into it before zipping her in. He brushed the lint away, just like she did with his suits. She watched as he picked up her heels and clutch. He held them in one hand and then held out the other for her.

Pepper took it and walked with him. Rhodey was waiting and was in full dress uniform. They didn’t talk, but that was okay. She really wasn’t ready to talk yet. The last five minutes had been the most talking that she’d done in a week. 

 

. . .

 

“It was a beautiful service,” Pepper said.

“It was,” he agreed. His hand running through her hair as he sat along side of her with his arm around her. “What did his mother say to you?”

Pepper laughed. “She told me that it was so nice to meet us… That Happy used to talk about us all the time… She says she feels like we’re part of her family…” She leaned against him and wrapped an arm around him. He held her tighter. “Thank you for making me go,” she whispered.

“Did it help?”

“A little…”

“Happy was a good guy…he was good to both of us,” Tony told her. “He loved you… That’s why he was in the workshop… You kept yelling my name,” he told her. “He came to save you. He’s a hero.”

She wasn’t sure if any of that helped make her feel any better, but she knew it was true. He had been there to protect them both… His passing was devasting… Not just because they were losing a friend that was close enough to them that they considered him family, but because he wouldn’t see the future that they intended on building… 

“He was our family,” she whispered.

“I know…” Tony whispered back. “And I’m going to keep my promise… I’m going to take care of you… And Happy was right, I think he punched me in the head enough to get me on the right track.” He turned and lifted her chin to look into her eyes. “And you’ll keep me on it, right?”

Pepper smiled sadly and then nodded. “Someone has to…”

 

. . .

 

The night of the funeral wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as hard as it had been before. She and Tony had talked into the night… They’d talked at first about Happy and memories they had of him. They’d talked about the happy ones…the funny ones…and even the sad ones… They’d talked about what they would miss most about him… How Pepper would miss his kindness and his ability to move Tony when she needed him to. How Tony would miss his best buddy and boxing pal who didn’t have a problem yelling at him when he fought dirty. But eventually Tony had fallen asleep in her bed. She’d turned off the lights and had just curled up on her side next to him.

Life was so precious.

They’d found that out first hand. She’d been reminded of it in Afghanistan…and when she came back she’d told herself that she’d live… But it seemed even though she was trying to live, that life had snatched away a dear friend…and she felt cheated. There had been five months that she hadn’t been able to spend with him. But the past was gone. She couldn’t get any of that time back with him. 

She drew circles on Tony’s arc reactor. She frowned at it and realized that they needed to take care of the palladium poisoning. She wasn’t going to lose Tony too. Pepper didn’t even care about what they were going to do with Stark Industries at the moment. She wouldn’t let Tony get sick… She wouldn’t let that sneak up on them. In the morning, they needed to start in full earnest on finding a replacement for the palladium or a new version of the arc reactor that wouldn’t depend on it. 

Pepper held up her hand and stared at the ring on her finger in the glow. It was so odd and yet it was comforting. They weren’t married or engaged, but he’d still pledged himself to her. He’d promised her so much…and she’d told him in Afghanistan to never make a promise he couldn’t keep…and Tony had kept insisting that these were promises that he intended on keeping… A big part of her reminded her that neither one of them were really ready for a serious relationship. They were both healing… And now, there would be another type of healing… They needed more time before they even stepped into that realm… But a small part of her wondered why they needed to wait… She didn’t think if she died the next day that she’d regret where they were right now… But she still wondered…

“I love you,” she whispered as she positioned herself so that she was pressed right up against him. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. Pepper wasn’t quite ready to sleep, but she didn’t want to be anywhere else right now. No where else would feel like home…not how she felt right now… 

This was home.

As much as she kept telling herself that she needed to keep her own place, each day it seemed like more of her things had taken up residence in the mansion. And they didn’t have a shared space… Tony would sleep in her bed, but that had been it. They didn’t share a closet… They didn’t share anything else… She was okay with it, though… She just wondered if maybe…just maybe she needed to take that leap and move in. If that was a step that she needed to make. 

Lying there with Tony just reminded her that they didn’t have do-overs in life. She needed to remember that the next day could be their last. 

This was home.

This was it.

She needed to make tomorrow count.

And she would.

Life was too short.

 

. . .

TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter I've planned to be the last for this story :) Thanks to everyone who read "All That Counts" and who have stuck it through reading "The Future is Not Guaranteed"!


	10. The Future is Not Guaranteed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to serenitymeimei for helping with beta-ing stuffs! <3 You're the best!

It was so quiet in the house. Pepper almost missed the arguing and back and forth between Tony and Happy. It was still hard. No matter how much time had passed, everything was still hard to deal with. But she forced herself to push forward and Tony was right there with her. 

“We don’t have to do this.”

“You know we do.”

“It doesn’t feel real.”

Pepper walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him and then leaned in to kiss him. She was proving to him that it was all real. “It feels real to me,” she teased. And it did. The pain was there. The grief was there. And the love she felt for Tony was there. It was too real. 

“I wanted this…but I don’t know how to be the CEO,” Tony admitted.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll teach you.”

“Why can’t you be CEO and I be the Executive Officer?” 

“Because my name isn’t Tony Stark.”

Tony sighed. “We could fix that, you know…”

“I’m not changing my name.”

“You changed it once.”

Pepper frowned at him. “My name is still legally Virginia Potts.”

He cringed when she said ‘Virginia’. “We could change it to Virginia Stark and then I’ll just keep calling you Pepper Potts.”

Pepper stared at you. “You know it’s really hard to know when you’re trying to be serious.”

“I’m not trying…”

“Obviously…”

“I’m…half serious.”

“That’s what worries me.” Pepper shook her head and adjusted his suit. “We’ve had this conversation before… We both need time…”

“We keep saying that…but what if we really don’t have that time?” he asked her seriously.

“I don’t know,” she responded honestly. “But I know that today we’re going to make a difference in this world. You, Tony Stark, are going to actually take your rightful place as CEO of Stark Industries and we’re going to set forth some change.”

“You have to promise me that you’ll be the new executive officer,” Tony told her.

“Not now… It’s too soon.”

“But in my head, you are.”

“In my head, I’m CEO,” she teased. “I’ve been practically doing that job for how many years now?”

He grinned at her. “You act like you want it, but when I try to give it to you…you won’t take it.”

“I’m complex like that.”

“I was going to say difficult.”

She smacked his arm lightly. “That’s not very nice.”

“Neither is hitting me.”

Pepper leaned in and kissed him again. “Remember what we said about this…” She kissed him again.

“I still don’t like that agreement,” he whined and then leaned in to kiss her.

They’d agreed that whatever their relationship was that they were strictly professional while they were at Stark Industries or anywhere conducting business for the company. Their personal lives were going to be personal and conducted at the mansion. It was the best thing that Pepper could think to keep the tabloids from exploding. It was bad enough that she’d already ended up on a couple with them citing what Obadiah had said in New York… 

“Please don’t start.”

“I’m not,” he told her. “I just wish we didn’t need it… I wish I could kiss you anytime I wanted…”

She ran her hand along his cheek. “I know…” 

He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “We’re going to have a good day, though…”

“We are,” she replied as she beamed at him. She was so proud of him. He’d stepped up. And as much as he hated it, he was going into the office. Today was just more of the official first day since everything had happened. The board had vetted him and that was all that mattered. He was going into the office as CEO of Stark Industries and no one was going to be able to question that. The board had also pretty much told them that they wanted to give him a six month trial period before they’d do anything else. She and Tony both knew that the board could lock him out. Even if it was his company and his family name…the board could take over… He was going to have to prove to them that he could do it. And she’d be by his side the whole way there.

“You’ll tell me if there are any problems?”

“What do you mean?”

“If anyone gives you a hard time.”

Pepper shook her head and then stroked his cheek. “I’ve worked for you for how much years?” She paused and then went on. “I think I can take care of myself… I know how to handle people…”

“That’s my girl…”

“You can’t say that in the office,” she told him as she shook her head again and then pressed a kiss to his lips. 

“But you are…”

“Tony…” she whispered against his lips.

“And if we don’t get out of here, I’m going to drag you upstairs to my bedroom,” he told her seriously.

Pepper smiled against his lips and then pulled away. They still hadn’t taken things further. She was still certain that it was for the best. They were already so close. The healing had begun and they were better for waiting and taking things slowly. She took his hand and pulled him towards the workshop. 

With Happy gone, she’d insisted that they not have someone to drive them. She wasn’t sure if it felt wrong…or too soon…or if they just couldn’t let another person into their lives that could get killed because of them… Any job with them ended up making that person family eventually. You worked with them everyday, even weekends, and the job ended up being their life. You saw them more than your own immediate family, if you had one. Pepper just couldn’t deal with it, so she’d insisted that they drive in together and that all of the cars were kept in the garage section of Tony’s workshop for security reasons. 

“You know, I could just fly us to work,” he teased.

“I don’t think that would work very well…”

“You’d just have to hold tight…”

“I don’t think that would be efficient after I just went to all that time fixing my hair and have you seen what I’m wearing?” Pepper asked him.

He shrugged. “Maybe you need a suit, too.”

“Or…we could take the car…like normal people.”

“You and Happy always wanting me to be like normal people…”

And though it made her a little sad, she smiled at his comment. No matter if Happy didn’t see the man that he was destined to be at his true high point, he’d always be in their hearts. He’d made an impact on Tony and that was what truly counted. “Because the rest of us are normal…”

“You are not normal,” he told her.

“If you say so…”

“Oh, I do,” he told her. “And I would know…because I’m a genius.”

 

. . .

 

“Come to bed,” she told him as she hugged him from behind. It was nearly midnight and the day had been so long. They’d done it though. Things had gone along smoothly. And it was nice to go into the office everyday… It was nice to see other faces… 

“I’m just finishing this…” he mumbled and she could hear the exhaustion in his voice. She knew that he could go days with little sleep, but he needed it. He’d shed his suit jacket, tie, and dress shirt. He was just in his slacks and the white shirt he’d worn underneath his dress shirt. Normally, he wore a black one, but today it was white because of the light blue shirt he’d had on. 

“Is it going to bring about world peace by morning?” she teased.

He laughed lowly in response.

“Cure world hunger?”

“You’re distracting me,” he said when her hands started to run over his chest, mindful of where the arc reactor stood. She was tight against him and her head rested on his shoulder.

“That’s the point, Mr. Stark,” she whispered with a smile. 

“JARVIS, save,” Tony finally said and turned in her arms. His lips were immediately against hers in a deep and frenzied kiss. It took her by surprise, but it didn’t take her long to reciprocate. 

Once they separated for air, she couldn’t stop grinning. She ran her fingers through his hair as she stared at him. “Did you fix the problem?”

“With the palladium?”

Pepper nodded.

“Not yet…”

She frowned and pressed her head against his chest, not caring if it touched the arc reactor there. She wasn’t going to lose him too. She couldn’t bear it. It was hard enough to just fathom the thought… Tears fell from her eyes and she looked up at him. “I can’t lose you,” she confessed. 

“You’re not going to, Pep,” he whispered and kissed her lips and then her forehead. He pressed his against hers and they just stood like there for a long minute. “I promise…and it’s a promise I intend on keeping… I just… I need the right material to replace the palladium… Today when we were at the office…I felt like it was so close…like I was missing something… That’s why I kept doodling on the notepad and the napkin…”

“We need to figure it out.”

“We will,” he said with confidence and then moved in to initiate another kiss. 

Their kisses were heated as hands started to explore. It was late, but she hadn’t changed yet. Pepper was still in her frilly sleeveless light blue blouse and her grey skirt that fell nearly to her knees. The only articles she’d discarded had been her blazer, heels, and the pins that had kept her hair neatly pulled back into a bun.

His hands held tight to her waist and before she could argue, he had her perched on the edge of a nearby workbench. He’d pushed her skirt far enough up her thighs so that he could move between her bare legs as he continued to kiss her. She wanted this… She wanted it more than she’d wanted it before…

She pulled back so that she could catch her breath for a moment and stared into his eyes. The desire that she found couldn't be hidden. He wanted this as much as she did. They’d waited so long…and they’d gone through so much…and she didn’t want to regret them not being together in the physical sense. “Please…don’t be teasing…” she whispered.

He grinned at her as his hand moved down between them and a finger brushed along her inner thigh. He pressed against her already wet panties before starting to circle slowly. Pepper’s breath hitched and Tony just smiled wider. “Last time, I seem to remember that someone else was a tease—“

“That was not my fault,” she told him. She squirmed against his touch. It was making her so impatient… They’d waited so long… Any arguments that she might have had were silenced by his lips on hers. His fingers moved aside the thin material of panties and teased for a moment before stopping altogether. She moved her hips forward slightly searching for his fingers. “Tony…” she half whined against his lips. 

“Patience, Ms. Potts,” he told her and silenced her with another kiss. This time his fingers started to move in circles and then would stop to focus on her clit for a moment. 

She was already wet and she wasn’t sure what Tony’s plan was…but she was enjoying it, even if he was making her more frustrated at the same time. “Tony Stark, you aren’t supposed to tease…” 

“Believe it or not, Pep, I don’t know everything,” Tony admitted.

She stared at him and was a little shocked at what he’d just told her. “You know about this…”

“I know about sex,” Tony corrected her. “I’m still a little surprised you’re still here with me…wanting me…after knowing how many one-night stands I’ve had…”

“And that’s just been since I’ve worked for you,” she teased. This line of talk really wasn’t getting her anywhere though. She really didn’t want to think about Tony with other women. 

“That was different,” he said quietly. “You and me, Pep… This… It’s not just sex…” He shrugged and paused for a moment. “So, I did research…”

She really couldn’t believe what he was saying now. He was just going for the shock factor, she was sure. “Tony—“

“Sex has always been for my pleasure and enjoyment… I’ve always needed the release. Nothing else. It’s not going to be like that with us,” Tony said. He pulled her closer, his fingers pressed into her thighs. “I want to make sure that you are satisfied… I didn’t realize it’s not as easy for women… So complicated…” He shook his head and then moved in to kiss her cheek and then to move his lips to her ear. “I mean to make love to you, Pepper Potts…” he breathed. 

And it sent chills through her spine. It sounded so cheesy, but coming from him, it was the most romantic thing in the world. “Tony—“

“I mean it, Pepper—“

And she knew he meant it. “Shut up, Tony,” she said with a bright smile and turned her head to silence him with a kiss. She knew that he meant well, but she didn’t need to hear anymore about his research. He could just show her and she’d be much happier with that than a full explanation. 

His fingers were at work again before she was fully prepared for it and the sensation pushed a moan from her lips and into his. She squirmed and opened herself wider to him, basking in his kisses as they trailed away from her mouth and gently caressed her neck. Pepper's eyes fluttered shut. Her body was tingling at his every touch; softly as his lips made their way down to the collar of her blouse and then nearly tenfold when he slowly inserted another finger into her.

It was then that she realized they were both fully dressed and this wasn’t going to get much farther if clothes weren’t removed. Pepper tried to keep herself balanced, which became difficult when Tony added another finger and started a slow rhythm, and reached up to unbutton her blouse. “Tony,” she moaned. It seemed as if his lips were traveling down faster than she could unbutton, but once she got to the last one she tugged the rest of the fabric free leaving her in her white lace bra. Her hands fell flat down to the workbench surface to try to keep herself steady as Tony continued and she found herself a little out of breath. 

His fingers curled inside of her and his thumb played with her clit as he picked up the rhythm that he’d started. Tony’s other hand moved up along her bare side and back to release her bra in one swift move, deftly removing it before massaging one of them while his mouth moved to the other. His tongue traced over her nipple a few times, causing her to shiver and moan out, before he switched sides and his hot mouth enveloped the other one.

Her hips were moving eagerly with his pace and she found all of the stimulation was getting her to the point where she was close. “Tony—“ she whispered out of breath. She wasn’t complaining, but she also didn’t know the plan. She trusted him, but she wanted him so badly… And she wanted it all. Pepper wanted him to make love to her, but it was so hard to be patient…to have him inside of her.

Without her quite realizing that was so close to the brink, it hit her with no warning and she was screaming his name. Her body shuddered and her brain tingled as her walls clamped down around his fingers still inside of her. Her hips were bucking and she was moaning as she rode out the orgasm. His lips were back on hers and she suddenly felt a little clearer. Vaguely, she realized that her hips were bucking and she was moaning as she rode out the orgasm. Then slowly withdrew his fingers and she whimpered against his lips. She could feel him smile in response between kisses. 

“Bedroom,” he whispered against her lips and was scooping her up. 

She wasn’t arguing. 

He was cautious walking up the stairs with her in his arms and she took the opportunity to kiss along his jaw, neck, and shoulder. When they were finally up in his room, Tony carefully laid her on the mattress and she realized that this was the first time they’d spend any time in his bed. Every night they slept in each other’s arms…it had always been in her room. 

In the blink of an eye, Pepper was unbuckling his belt and he was removing her blouse and bra. Clothing was being shed quicker than it took to put on and soon they were both completely naked. Pepper took him in, arc reactor and all, he was absolutely beautiful and he was hers… 

She started to push herself up, but Tony’s lips were on her and his hands were pressing her back down to the bed as he positioned himself so that his body was between her legs. She was hot and wet and so ready for him. She could feel how hard he’d become and it was pressing against her thigh. Pepper tried to adjust herself, but Tony seemed to have other plans and his lips were slowly moving down her body. Frustration continued to grow through her, but he stopped and adored her breasts with his hands and lips and she forgot about it for a moment. 

Moans filled the room and she pulled her legs up and back wanting him inside of her, hoping that she wasn’t going to have to wait much longer. Her body was still feeling a bit of a buzz from his handiwork. His kisses were down around her bellybutton and she tried to enjoy each touch. These were all touches that were new between them and she didn’t know what the morning would bring. These were to be savored…the rest would come. 

Tony’s hands slid over her thighs and coaxed them apart further, flicking his tongue across her clit first. Her head fell back as a moan escaped her lips. This was certainly turning into far more than she’d imagined or hoped for. It had been some time since she’d had any kind of physical relationship that meant anything and even longer since someone tried to push her beyond one orgasm. She wasn’t sure what Tony had been reading as part of his ‘research’, but she fully approved it of so far.

His tongue was doing brilliant things and she wasn’t sure how long she was going to be able to hold out as he continued to flick across and trace circles around her clit. Occasionally, he would dip between her folds and explore her. His lips were on her clit this time though and he was sucking and it was sending tingles throughout her body and moans were escaping louder from her lips. She arched and felt herself teetering at the edge, teetering at the edge, but before she could fall and get hit by another wave of overpowering sensations, he removed himself entirely from between her legs.

Pepper whimpered loudly and reached out to grab at him. She feared that he was stopping all together. If this was what the research had said, she didn’t like it. She’d made it very clear that she hadn’t wanted to be teased. Her lips parted and before she could voice her concern, his lips were on hers and his mouth was opening and his tongue was in her mouth and she could taste herself in the kiss. His body pressed hard against hers and he was already in position and slowly pressing against her hot, wet folds. 

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered as he pulled away from the kiss for a split second before he was kissing her again. Tony’s hands were all over her and then they finally rested; one was on her breast and one was on her lower back pressing her to him gently. 

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she continued to eagerly kiss him like they were making up for lost time. And maybe they were. 

When he was finally completely inside of her, he stilled and she pressed her hips to his and took a moment to grind against him. Her fingers ran along his scalp and then curled to grasp hair, her other hand moved along his chest and rested alongside the arc reactor. His lips were kissing along her jaw to her ear and he ducked his head into the crook of her neck before he slowly started to move. She cupped the side of his head and she moved her other hand to his back, running it along his spine until she felt him shiver as her fingers danced up and down his back.

His moans joined hers as his pace quickened. He was hitting the right spots and she found herself building towards a second orgasm. She practically purred into his ear and when she turned her head towards him she caught the grin on his face. 

Moving to capture his lips again, she moaned as his fingers squeezed her nipples between them. It wasn’t only her that was close, she could feel Tony’s body tensing a bit and she realized that he was probably close as well. His movements seemed more frenzied than before, so she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and clung to him. Her hips pressed against his every chance she had and her moans echoed up to his ears as she found herself teetering again. Light tingling spread through her and it wasn’t until it hit her that she felt like lightning was spreading throughout her, Pepper’s back arched up and her body shuddered as the waves of pleasure washed over her. 

It seemed like she set him off because she felt him twitching inside of her and he was suddenly still and then moving inside of her, but slowly. He’d moaned her name and she’d found herself unable to contain the smile that spread across her face. There was something so different about how he’d said it. Something that sent more shivers through her spine. After a moment, he was collapsing but he was careful not to shift all of his weight on her. Their limbs were entangled and he pulled her close. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear. She curled against him and closed her eyes. 

“I love you, too,” she whispered back.

Her hand rested on his arc reactor and she just concentrated on the sound of his breathing and the feeling of his arms around her. There was so much warmth and her body still had residual tingling throughout it. Her head felt cloudy, but she didn’t think she could be happier. 

It had definitely been worth the wait.

 

. . . 

 

That morning she woke and didn’t want to move from bed. She didn’t care how much e-mail there was in her inbox or how much paperwork she should really get done. She just wanted to stay there for as long as she could get away with it…and for as long as she could keep Tony there. She was still wrapped in his warm arms and feared that if she moved that she’d wake him.

She wanted to keep him there for herself.

“Can I say that that was the best night ever?” Tony asked in a quiet whisper.

Pepper moved her head quickly, tilting it up to look into his face. He was awake and watching her. She smiled at him and kissed him. “I don’t know if I’d believe you…”

“Believe it.”

“I think I’d require some sort of proof…”

He kissed the top of her head and then moved to press his forehead against hers. “That was the first time where I made love to someone…where I’ve cared more about the other person’s pleasure than my own…” he whispered. And she could tell that he was being sincere. She blushed, but was so touched. 

“Do we have to go in today?”

He laughed. “No.”

She grinned. “Thank you for lying to me…”

“JARVIS should be issuing the wake-up call any minute now,” Tony told her. “You could always stay home…”

“You’re going to go into the office without me?” she asked amused and tilted her head to get a better look at his face.

“Right,” he said. “It’s just not as enjoyable if I don’t have you there with me…and let’s face it, Stark Industries cannot function without you. The company needs you more than it needs me.” He pressed their foreheads together again.

“Don’t say that,” she told him. 

“It’s true…”

“Tony…”

“You’re so much better with people…and you’ve been doing this for as long as you’ve been with Stark Industries…” Tony told her. “I’m just the money and the thinker…”

She frowned deeply at that. “I’ll teach you how to be better with people…”

“I don’t know if I’m teachable,” he told her.

Pepper moved so they were face to face as she lay on her side. She cupped his face and stared at him. “Believe me, you are teachable,” she whispered and then kissed him. 

“The time is now seven a.m. and the temperature outside is seventy-two degrees,” JARVIS announced, but Pepper didn’t pay attention to the rest. 

She sighed and curled up against him. “We have to get up,” she told him. Pepper really wished that they could call in sick, but that just wasn’t possible. They couldn’t not show up to work. They were making a difference…and there was so much change and restructuring going on… In a few months, then they could take a vacation…until then they needed to keep to it. 

“Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes.”

 

. . .

 

“Are you sure about this?” she asked. Pepper wasn’t sure how many times she’d asked, but she kept hoping that Tony would change his mind.

“He asked to talk to me,” Tony reminded.

“He killed Happy,” she reminded as she followed him down the stairs that led from his bedroom. ‘He was planning on killing all of us! In this house!”

“I already said that you don’t have to go,” Tony said. He stopped at the bottom and turned to her. “I at least need to hear what he has to say.”

“And what if it haunts you?”

“My past has already done that enough,” he told her honestly. She could see it in his eyes. He was filled with so much anger and fear, but there was also strength there. “I’ve wasted so much of my life, Pep. I have so many regrets…but I can’t hold onto that. None of it.” He pulled her into his arms and his head rested against her chest. “The past is in the past. It’s gone and over with. We can’t change any of that. Right now, this is what we have to live for… You and me, Pep…”

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed the top of his head. “I know,” she whispered. “But it’s so hard…”

“We don’t have to forget,” he told her. “Or even forgive…”

She sighed and laid her head against his. “So much has happened… So much is going on… So much is happening… And I don’t want to feel like I’m drowning…”

“I’m always going to be here, Pepper,” Tony promised. “I’ll keep you afloat…and you anchor me.”

Pepper smiled sweetly at that. “I love you.”

“I love you…”

 

. . .

 

They’d traveled to the LA County State Prison in Lancaster. The prison section that Obadiah was in was maximum security and they had him in a special section. They said it was for his own safety, but Pepper didn’t know what other prisoners would do to someone who was high up in a company. The guards had told them everything that was going to happen, but it hadn’t made her feel safer. It had terrified her… 

“You okay?” Tony whispered as they approached the area in which they were going to talk with Obadiah. 

“No,” she whispered and held back tears. She reached down and squeezed his hand. 

“You can still go back—“

“I’m staying with you,” she whispered. “I’m not going to have you go through this alone…”

“Pep—“

“I’ll be okay… You’re going to be right there next to me,” Pepper reminded him. 

He lifted their hands and kissed the top of her hand. “I’ll be right here.”

They were escorted in and sat down. They had to wait for them to bring Obadiah in. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and was looking far too happy to see him there. He was also shackled and it didn’t bring her any comfort whatsoever. 

“My two favorite people!” Obadiah said as he sat down and he tried to motion at them with his shackled hands. 

“I came,” Tony told him. 

“You brought Pepper…”

“I wanted to come,” she spoke up. She really didn’t want to be there. She was only there for Tony. “I hope that’s okay.”

“Of course! Of course!” Obadiah exclaimed gleefully. “Where shall I start?”

“You said you wanted to talk,” Tony told him.

“There’s so much you don’t know…” Obadiah said as he leaned back in his chair. “So much that not even Pepper or Happy knew about… All those years where I cleaned up your messes… I protected the company… I protected the Stark name… I protected your spoiled ass…”

“Get on with it.”

“They’re not going to punish me the way you want them to,” Obadiah said with pride. “I’m not going to be transferred to San Quentin or Death Row…” He leaned in as if he were telling them a secret, but his voice wasn’t any lower. “I’ve already talked to the state lawyers and the FBI and all those people… They want to know where the skeletons are…and I’m going to tell them, but I got a deal for all of it.”

“What are you talking about?” 

Pepper had remembered him saying something similar before. In the hallway when Obadiah had come out yelling at them. He’d said something similar. She wondered what he meant by it. Was he going to try to get Tony in trouble? She was fairly sure that she or Happy would know if something horrible had been done that involved Tony. 

“How many women have you slept with over the years? The decades?” Obadiah asked.

“I don’t know,” Tony admitted.

“I have the number… I know their names… I know their addresses… I know which ones got pregnant… I know which ones that I had to deal with…”

“What are you saying?” Tony asked. 

“What do you think I’m saying?” Obadiah leaned back again. “All of those women… Did you really think that they thought that you were God’s gift to them? Hell no! They came back… They wanted you… They wanted you to provide for their children that they insisted you fathered… Or they wanted to claim that you’d gotten them drunk and raped them… I couldn’t have that in the papers… So, I took care of things…”

“Oh my God,” Pepper whispered in a gasp. She looked away and closed her eyes as she thought about all the women that she’d seen Tony with over the years. Of all of the women, how many had Obadiah ‘taken care of’. It made her sick…

“You killed them? To keep them from going to the papers? From getting money?” Tony asked. She could hear his voice getting more agitated. He was barely holding back the anger that she knew was boiling inside of him. “It’s just money! It doesn’t matter!”

“You couldn’t have been a father to any of them anyways… I’ve kept you safe… And the company… You two think that you can do such a good job in my stead… How are you going to handle the situations that arise that require you to get your hands dirty?” Obadiah just grinned at them. “I know where the bodies are… All of them… I’m going to give those families closure… And they’re going to keep me here… I’m going to work on getting moved somewhere that’ll keep me more comfortable…and maybe…just maybe…I’ll get released…”

“You’re insane!”

“Am I?”

“I want that list!”

Obadiah laughed. “I’m sure you do…” He tilted his head. “You’re curious, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “You bed your secretary and she’s actually tolerating you, so you’re going to see if there’s any children out there with your blood that are left out there alive… I took care of them all…but you’re free to look…”

Tears fell from her eyes as she thought about the possibility of all of the women and the unborn children that Obadiah had killed. All those lives cut short… And why? Because they wanted money? Because maybe they thought in some twisted way that Tony would want them to be his wife if he knew they were pregnant? That wasn’t anywhere close to a reason to kill them… 

“She’s thinking about what a monster you are now,” Obadiah told Tony. “She’s thinking about how many women you’ve had in that house…and how many of them I’ve killed for you…”

“I want the list.”

“No.”

“Please,” Pepper finally spoke up. Her voice was breaking and tears were freely flowing down her face. “Let those families have peace… You’ve killed so many… At least give them that…”

“You’re always so soft…” Obadiah told her. She glared at him. “I knew that Happy would die for you… Really, he was more likely to sacrifice himself for you than Tony here… Maybe you chose the wrong guy…”

She ignored him. She had too. Deep down, though, she felt as though she was being stabbed. Her voice was soft and emotional as she spoke. “We need those names… We need that information…” She didn’t care about the fact that there could be children out there that were Tony’s, not in the way that she would feel jealous in any way. If he had children, then she wanted him to find them and provide in some way for them. He owed them at least that… He owed it to all of the children that never had the chance to even breathe in their first breath and to the mothers who all died. And she’d see to it that those things were handled… She’d be there every step of the way with him.

“They’re going to give you a copy of the basics,” Obadiah told them. “The women that are still alive. You can’t have the full list though… But you can go out there and see if any of your bastard children slipped through my hands…”

“Thank you,” Pepper whispered. She reached out and put a hand over Tony’s. She was sure that he was ready to yell and scream, but that wasn’t going to help anything. 

“Too bad things didn’t end up differently… I’m sure you would have made a fine mistress,” Obadiah told Pepper as he just grinned at her. 

“We’re going,” Tony announced and stood, pulling Pepper by the hand with him. The guards were already opening the doors for him. He didn’t look back. He couldn’t.

“Is that it? You don’t want to hear anything else I have to say? What if I have more secrets?” Obadiah yelled as they exited.

They didn’t speak until they made it out of the building and into the main parking lot. She was clutching the envelope that held the list of the women that Tony had slept with sometime in the past, who knew how many years ago, and Obadiah hadn’t felt the need to kill. Pepper felt like the world was suddenly blackening and caving in on them again… 

“Pep…”

“He killed—“

“I know,” Tony whispered and his arms were around her and his lips were against her forehead. 

She was still grappling with the truth that Obadiah had just dropped on them. Would this all go to the media? Was this what Obadiah wanted? Tony’s name…Stark Industries…dragged through the mud? Did he intend on ruining them? 

Pepper wouldn’t allow that.

None of this was anything that Tony had asked for… He hadn’t asked Obadiah to kill women and children… It had all been Obadiah’s doing… 

“You’re quiet,” he whispered as his hand rubbed her back. 

“You might have children out there…”

She could feel moisture on her cheek and she pulled back to look at him fully. He was crying. She cupped his face and stared at him. Obadiah was not going to break Tony. Pepper wouldn’t allow it. They’d gone through hell in Afghanistan and they’d made it out alive. They’d make it through this too. They were stronger… 

“All of those women…children…dead…because of me…” he whispered. He was sobbing then and he crashed into her shoulder.

Pepper’s arms enveloped him. She kept hold of the envelope and tried to think about what they were going to do. “It’s not your fault…” she whispered calmly.

“He killed them because I slept with them… Because I was drunk and—“

“It’s not your fault,” she repeated and held his face a little tighter. She kissed his lips and then his forehead and then each of his eyes before finally pressing her forehead against his. “Listen to me… It’s not your fault, Tony… What Obadiah did… He did that… Not you… We can only control right now…and that’ll shape the future…”

“What do I do?”

“You’re not alone, Tony,” Pepper reminded. “You’re never alone.” She stepped back and held the envelope to her chest. “You and I… We’re going to go home… We’re going to have dinner, because we have to eat… I’m going to pour us some wine—“

“Pep—“

“One glass…” she told him. He hadn’t had anything for some time, but she felt like they could both use one glass of wine. “And then we’re going to sit down and figure out how to go about finding out where all of these women are…make sure they’re safe…and find out if you have any children out there…”

“And if I do?” he asked.

She wondered if he thought that it would end their relationship. It wouldn’t. They were made of stronger stuff. They would be just fine. She knew it. Obadiah Stane was not going to hurt them anymore. He’d tried to kill them twice and they’d survived both times. He was in jail where he belonged and they’d ensure that he remained there for as long as they could convince a judge and jury he needed to be there. “We’ll figure it out…”

“Pepper—“

She stared at him. “No matter what comes tomorrow, Tony… I love you.”

Everything they would face, they’d face together.

But there was one thing that she knew for sure…

The future was not guaranteed.

 

. . .

 

The End


End file.
